Pokemon card collection worth $10,000 appears on Antiques Roadshow

A Pokemon card collector brought her full binder to Antiques Roadshow, which was worth around $10,000.

In recent years, Pokemon cards have dramatically increased in value – especially mint condition rare copies. However, the improved worth has also led to a rise in theft across the globe. For example, one group of thieves stole over $1M in Pokemon cards in collectibles in March 2023.

While this Pokemon fan’s collection didn’t break six digits, the projected value surprised her. The estimate turned out to be much more than the $35 that her mother paid for it.

Pokemon card collection gets appraised on Antiques Roadshow

The PBS show Antiques Roadshow posted a clip of the appraisal on their official YouTube channel. A guest on the series brought 150 cards in a binder, including Base Set cards and rare Shadowless copies. The cards from the 1990s were in excellent condition – which skyrocketed their value.

“Conservatively at auction, we would say that your binder would be in the $5,000-$10,000 range,” host Travis Landry said. Landry suggested the owner sell the cards individually – like the Mewtwo and Charizard copies – to earn more money.

Landry then described the Pokemon market as “volatile.” “It is a market that blossomed through the pandemic,” he revealed. “I hate giving you the womp-womp news on the backside, but your Charizard in this shape less than a year ago was easily a $5,000-$8,000 card. At the peak of the market, in November 2020 to March April 2021, we were seeing this card hit as high as $15,000.” 

Recently, Heritage Auctions sold a PSA-graded Trophy Pikachu for a whopping $300,000. PSA says that The Pokemon Company printed less than 100 of these cards – guaranteeing their value.

Would you ever sell your prized Pokemon card collection? Apparently, they’re vintage enough to appear on Antiques Roadshow.