Pokemon cards sell for record-breaking $360,000 at auction

Brent Koepp
pokemon 1st edition booster box

A 1999 1st Edition Pokemon base set booster box broke records on November 19, selling for $360,000 USD at auction. The incredibly rare Trading Card Game item sold for as much as a house.

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The Pokemon TCG made its debut in 1999 as a companion to the popular Nintendo RPGs. Decades later, items once traded on school playgrounds can now be worth mind-blowing amounts of money.

In 2020, the Trading Card Game has seen a major explosion in value. And in November, a booster box sealed since the 90s has sold for a whopping $360k. The jaw-dropping price is a record for the item at auction.

Screenshot of a 1999 1st edition booster box from the Pokemon Trading Card Game.
The booster box from 1999 is now worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Pokemon booster box sells for mind-blowing amount

In October, popular YouTuber Logan Paul put a major spotlight on the TCG when he spent a massive $216k on a 1999 Base Set Booster box. The star then opened the rare collectible live on stream in front of 400k viewers where he revealed the cards that were inside.

In November, the very same item went up for sale at the Heritage Auctions and sold for over $360k by the end of bidding on the 19th. The astronomical figure is approximately a 66% increase in value over what it had sold for previously – bringing in an extra $144k in just a month’s time.

Although Pokemon cards have seen a major explosion in sales prices over the last year, it should be pointed out that the record-breaking item is a 1st Edition. The insanely rare first print run was not only scarcely available in the 90s, but a sealed version of the box in 2020 is nearly impossible to find.

Screenshot of Pokemon card boost box selling at auction for $360k.
The Pokemon card booster box from 1999 is now worth a ton.

The November 19 sale is a new record for the TCG collectible at auction, although the same item technically sold for $375k through a private seller earlier in the month. YouTube channel ‘Dumb Money’ went viral buying the booster box after it was revealed live to be fake and re-sealed. Although the channel claims to have later bought a second legitimate version for the incredible price.

Even though the item is a sealed 1st Edition, it’s still mind-blowing to think cards once thrown around by children decades ago are now going for as much as a house. If nothing else, the price tag will certainly cause fans of the series to run to their garage to see if they kept their childhood collection.