List of most expensive cards from collectible card games
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names,[note 1] is a type of card game that mixes strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards.[2] Cards in CCGs are specially designed sets of playing cards. Each card represents an element of the theme and rules of the game, and each can fall in categories such as creatures, enhancements, events, resources, and locations.[3] All cards within the CCG typically share the same common backside art, while the front has a combination of proprietary artwork or images to embellish the card along with instructions for the game and flavor text.[4] CCGs are typically themed around fantasy or science fiction genres, and have also included horror themes, cartoons, and sports, and may include licensed intellectual properties.[3]
The value of a CCG card depends on a combination of the popularity of the game, the popularity of the intellectual property on which the card is based, the card's condition, the scarcity of the card, whether the card has an artist's signature, and the gameplay value (power or efficiency) of the card. In some cases, the cards have become collector's items of considerable value. Most of the priciest cards come from the first CCG, Magic: The Gathering, or from some of the other most popular CCGs such as Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh!.
List of highest prices (US$300,000+) paid
This list only contains cards actually sold, not estimated prices of unsold cards, at a price of US$300,000 or more.
The list is ordered by default by original sale price but can be re-sorted by consumer price index inflation-adjusted value (in bold) in United States dollars in 2025.[note 2]
Cards are evaluated by third-party services, most often Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), Certified Guaranty Company (CGC), Beckett Grading Services (BGS), or Sportscard Guaranty Corporation (SGC), and given a grade on a 10-point scale based on condition.[5]
The population column is the number of copies of the card in the original print run, not the number of known surviving copies in the present or of the graded quality.
| Original price | Inflation-adjusted price[note 2] | Date of sale | Card name | Year printed or released | Set | Game | Grade | Auction house | Seller | Buyer | Population in original print run[note 3] | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $16,492,000 | $16,492,000 | February 16, 2026 | Pikachu Illustrator | 1998 | none (contest promo) | Pokémon Trading Card Game | PSA 10 | Goldin Auctions | Logan Paul | AJ Scaramucci | 41[note 4] | [9] | |
| $5,275,000 | $6,267,423 | July 22, 2021 | Pikachu Illustrator | 1998 | none (contest promo) | Pokémon Trading Card Game | PSA 10 | private sale | Marwan Dubsy | Logan Paul | 41[note 4] | purchased with combination of $1.275 million PSA 9 Pikachu Illustrator and $4 million cash | |
| $3,000,000 | $3,078,922 | March 2024 | Black Lotus | 1993 | Alpha | Magic: The Gathering | CGC Pristine 10 | private sale | Adam Cai | Benjamin Be | 1,100[note 5] | purchased with bitcoin; unlike most of the other most expensive Black Lotuses, not signed by artist Christopher Rush | |
| $2,000,000 | $2,113,368 | August 1, 2023 | The One Ring | 2023 | The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth | Magic: The Gathering | PSA 9 | private sale | Brook Trafton | Post Malone | 1 | one-of-a-kind printing (only copy of this version of the card ever printed) with unique art and Tengwar instead of English text | |
| $1,275,000 | $1,514,875 | June 2021 | Pikachu Illustrator | 1998 | none (contest promo) | Pokémon Trading Card Game | PSA 9 | private sale | Matt Allen | Logan Paul | 41[note 4] | ||
| $900,000 | $990,164 | February 23, 2022 | Pikachu Illustrator | 1998 | none (contest promo) | Pokémon Trading Card Game | PSA 7 | Goldin Auctions | private seller | private buyer | 41[note 4] | ||
| $800,000 | $880,146 | 2022 | Black Lotus (artist proof) | 1993 | Alpha | Magic: The Gathering | private sale | private seller | Post Malone | artist proof signed by artist Christopher Rush | |||
| $672,000 | $739,322 | October 29, 2022 | Pikachu Illustrator | 1998 | none (contest promo) | Pokémon Trading Card Game | CGC 9.5 | Goldin Auctions | Blake Martinez | private buyer | 41[note 4] | ||
| $615,000 | $649,861 | March 24, 2023 | Black Lotus (artist proof) | 1993 | Alpha | Magic: The Gathering | CGC 8.5 | Heritage Auctions | Jeff Ferreira | private buyer | artist proof signed by artist Christopher Rush | ||
| $540,000 | $570,609 | March 16, 2023 | Black Lotus | 1993 | Alpha | Magic: The Gathering | PSA 10 | PWCC Marketplace | private seller | private buyer | 1,100[note 5] | signed by artist Christopher Rush | |
| $511,100 | $607,257 | January 27, 2021 | Black Lotus | 1993 | Alpha | Magic: The Gathering | PSA 10 | eBay | private seller | private buyer | 1,100[note 5] | signed by artist Christopher Rush | |
| $493,230 | $586,025 | January 2021 | Charizard (Topsun blue back) | 1997 | Topsun chewing gum promos | Pokémon Trading Card Game | PSA 10 | Goldin Auctions | private seller | private buyer | |||
| $444,000 | $464,941 | September 2023 | Silver No. 2 Pikachu Trainer (1997-1998 Lizardon Tournament version) | 1997 | none (tournament trophy promo) | Pokémon Trading Card Game | PSA 10 | Goldin Auctions | private seller | private buyer | 14[note 6] | originally awarded as a trophy/prize to 2nd-place finishers in the 1997-1998 Lizardon (Charizard) Mega Battle Tournament series | |
| $420,000 | $462,076 | March 2022 | Charizard (English holographic shadowless) | 1999 | English Base Set 1st Edition | Pokémon Trading Card Game | PSA 10 | PWCC Marketplace | private seller | private buyer | 4,000+ | ||
| $369,000 | $459,056 | December 12, 2020 | Charizard (English holographic shadowless) | 1999 | English Base Set 1st Edition | Pokémon Trading Card Game | SGC 10 | Goldin Auctions | private seller | private buyer | 4,000+ | one of two Charizard cards sold for similar prices ($350,100 and $369,000) on different auction websites on the same day | |
| $360,000 | $427,729 | January 2021 | Blastoise (commissioned presentation galaxy star holo) | 1998 | none (test print card) | Pokémon Trading Card Game | CGC 8.5 | Heritage Auctions | private seller | private buyer | 2 | one of only 2 test printings of this card, created by Wizards of the Coast to convince Nintendo to let them publish the English release of the Pokémon TCG, and the whereabouts or survival of the other copy is unknown | |
| $350,100 | $435,543 | December 12, 2020 | Charizard (English holographic shadowless) | 1999 | English Base Set 1st Edition | Pokémon Trading Card Game | PSA 10 | eBay | private seller | private buyer | 4,000+ | one of two Charizard cards sold for similar prices ($350,100 and $369,000) on different auction websites on the same day | |
| $336,000 | $369,661 | March 4, 2022 | Charizard (English holographic shadowless) | 1999 | English Base Set 1st Edition | Pokémon Trading Card Game | PSA 10 | Heritage Auctions | private seller | private buyer | 4,000+ | ||
| $324,000 | $356,459 | April 16, 2022 | Charizard (Japanese holographic) | 1996 | Japanese Base Set 1st Edition | Pokémon Trading Card Game | PSA 10 | PWCC Marketplace | private seller | private buyer | signed by artist Mitsuhiro Arita | ||
| $311,800 | $370,461 | March 28, 2021 | Charizard (English holographic shadowless) | 1999 | English Base Set 1st Edition | Pokémon Trading Card Game | PSA 10 | eBay | private seller | private buyer | 4,000+ | ||
| $311,211 | $328,852 | April 29, 2023 | Tyler the Great Warrior | 2005 | none (Make-A-Wish Foundation promo) | Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game | BGS 7 | eBay | Tyler Gressle | private buyer | 1 | only one copy of card printed, as a Make-A-Wish Foundation gift to seller, whom the card is named after | |
| $300,000 | $356,441 | January 14, 2021 | Charizard (English holographic shadowless) | 1999 | English Base Set 1st Edition | Pokémon Trading Card Game | PSA 10 | Heritage Auctions | private seller | private buyer | 4,000+ | ||
| $300,000 | $317,005 | April 2023 | Bronze No. 3 Pikachu Trainer (1997 1st Official Tournament version) | 1997 | none (tournament trophy promo) | Pokémon Trading Card Game | PSA 8 | Heritage Auctions | private seller | private buyer | 4[note 6] | originally awarded as a trophy/prize to 3rd-place finishers in the 1997 1st Official Pokémon Card Game Tournament series |
See also
Notes
- The Wikipedia template uses a yearly average inflation. Using monthly averages gives slightly different numbers, most significantly for cards sold early or late in a year with significant inflation.
- This population column is the number of copies of the card in the original print run, not the number of known surviving copies in the present or of the graded quality.
- 41 copies are known to have been printed: 39 were given out to winners of 3 CoroCoro Comic-sponsored illustration contests, and 2 were later released through sale at auction by Yuichi Konno, one of the Pokémon TCG designers.[6][7][8]
- There were originally 1,100 copies of Black Lotus in the print run for Limited Edition Alpha.[22]
- Gold No. 1, Silver No. 2, and Bronze No. 3 Pikachu Trainer trophy cards were awarded to, respectively, 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-place finishers in the 14–15 June 1997 1st Official Pokémon Card Game Tournament series,[57] the November 8, 1997-February 15, 1998 Lizardon (Charizard) Mega Battle Tournament series,[58] and the July 19 – September 3, 1998, Kamex (Blastoise) Mega Battle Tournament series.[59] Though the trophy cards awarded across the three tournament series had identical art and frames, they can be distinguished through differences in the textboxes: the 1997 1st Official Tournament trophies have no number in the textbox and total 4 copies for each placement (gold, silver, and bronze), the 1997-1998 Lizardon Tournament trophies have the number "1" in the textbox and total 14 copies for each placement, and the 1998 Kamex Tournament trophies have the number "2" in the textbox and also total 14 copies for each placement.[60]