Feast Your Eyes Upon the $213,500 Pokémon Card

That’s not a misprint. Goldin‘s recently concluded “Pop Culture Elite Auction” did indeed proffer a number of elite items, but none so gloriously extravagant as a 1999 Pokémon Charizard card in a condition so flawless, it could not be graded any higher. For that, a collector dug six figures deep, paying $213,500—more than double what someone paid for that viral Charizard-shaped Cheeto back in March.

According to Goldin, “ever since the release of the first Pokémon trading cards in 1996, Charizard has held a special place at the pinnacle of Pokémon fandom. The ferocious, fire-breathing Flame Pokémon stars on this holographic treasure dating to the 1999 Pokémon issue.”

“The holofoil background behind the massive Charizard on the card’s front dazzles as the item presents a crisp illustration of its subject by the renowned artist Mitsuhiro Arita. This is a true cornerstone of the Pokémon collecting speciality, and an incredible piece that would instantly be the crown jewel of any Pokémon collection.”

And now, it is. Other valuable Pokémon items sold in the recent auction include the “tremendously scarce Pokémon Japanese Promo Family Event Trophy Card Holofoil Kangaskhan collectible” ($68,321); an “extremely coveted Pokémon Japanese CoroCoro Comics Promo Best Photo Snap Gyarados collectible” ($51,113); and “one of the rarest Pokémon promo cards ever minted,” the “1998 Pokemon Japanese Promo 64 Mario Stadium Best Photo #109 Snap Koffing” ($37,805).

Buyer information is, of course, kept confidential, so there’s no way of knowing if the same person bought all those cards. However, we’d like to think they did, and that they’re all going on the same display shelf with the Cheetozard.

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