A rare Pokémon card portraying Tsunekazu Ishihara, the president of The Pokémon Company, sold for nearly $250,000 in a recent auction run by Goldin Auctions.
The Tsunekazu Ishihara Signed Pokémon GX Promo Card sold for $247,230 at auction, marking the highest price paid for a 2017 Pokémon card. While this is not the most expensive Pokémon card ever sold, the price is noteworthy considering the card doesn't feature an actual Pokémon, but rather the renowned Pokémon creator.
The card itself is described as "near mint condition" and depicts Ishihara alongside the Pokémon Rotom and a Master Ball. It also boasts Ishihara's actual signature in bold black ink.
In addition to serving as President of The Pokémon Company, Ishihara is known as the driving force behind a variety of Pokémon innovations, including the original Red and Green games, the Pokemon Trading Card Game and the interactive Pokémon Go game. The Tsunekazu Ishihara card was originally distributed to The Pokémon Company employees as part of a celebration commemorating Ishihara’s 60th birthday back in 2017.
"What's really incredible is the massive enthusiasm that we're seeing across other sports and categories," Ken Goldin, Founder and Chairman of Goldin Auctions, said after the bidding period closed. "Prices for cards across sports like golf, soccer and hockey, and for trading card games like Pokémon, have absolutely taken off and we're just scratching the surface!"
Additional items that brought in the big bucks as part of the auction included a signed Tom Brady 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Rookie Ticket card that fetched $1.72 million, a Wayne Gretzky rookie card that sold for $248,460 and an autographed 2014 Topps Allen & Ginter card featuring Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy that sold for $14,760.
The Tsunekazu Ishihara card is just the latest Pokémon card to fetch upwards of $100,000 this year. Back in January, Heritage Auctions sold a Pokémon Charizard #4 first edition base set hologram card that landed an offer of $105,000 with eight days left in the bidding. While it's unclear how much the card ended up selling for, the Heritage Auctions page claims that the current owner is open to accepting offers for $450,000 or more.
Goldin Auctions is the leading marketplace for trading cards, sports memorabilia and other collectibles. The company has sold more than $1 billion in memorabilia from some of the biggest names in sports, history and pop culture. Goldin Auctions also professionally authenticates everything it sells.
Source: Goldin Auctions