A Pokémon First Edition Base Set Sealed Booster Box set a collectible card game world record last week by selling for $408,000 at auction.
The box reportedly sold during the second session of Heritage Auctions’ four-day Comics & Comic Art Auction, which runs through Sunday, Jan. 17. The afternoon session included 16 Pokémon lots overall, which accounted for more than $1.3 million in sales.
"Recent history has shown that the demand for First Edition Base Set Sealed Booster Boxes is soaring," said Jesus Garcia, Trading Cards Expert in the Heritage Auctions Comics Department. "Based on the competitive bidding when Heritage Auctions sold a similar set in November, we expected the interest in this set to be even higher, and our collectors did not disappoint."
The First Edition Base Set Sealed Booster Box was in its original shrink wrap and broke the previous world record for an auction sale, set when Heritage Auctions sold a similar booster box in November 2020 for $360,000. The set was created in 1999 by Wizards of the Coast and featured 102 cards, including the highly sought after Charizard.
The box contains 36 booster packs, each with 11 cards for a total of 396 cards, all of which likely are in "gem mint" condition because the packs have not yet been handled. Due to its low print run, the set is considered the pinnacle of Pokémon box collecting.
In addition to the record-breaking First Edition Base Set Booster Box, two other Pokémon yielded six-figure sales. One was the Pokémon Blastoise #009/165R Commissioned Presentation Galaxy Star Hologram (Wizards of the Coast, 1998) CGC NM/Mint+ 8.5, which garnered 52 bids before selling for $360,000.
That card was one of just two copies produced by Cartamundi, and was used as a "Presentation" piece for Nintendo before Pokémon cards started being produced in English. The card was purchased by Thomas Fish at Blowout Cards, who said, "This is the card that started it all, perhaps the most prestigious and rare of all Pokémon collectibles. I am thrilled for our client and glad we could be part of this historic sale."