One of the rarest Pokémon cards in the world recently came up for auction at Heritage Auctions. The card in question is the No.1 Trainer card and is from the original Japanese edition, known as the Pocket Monster Trading Card Game.
What makes this card so special is the rarety and method needed to acquire it. The No.1 Trainer card was awarded to winners of the 7 regional tournaments that were held in 1999. This card would be given to the winner of a tournament and guarantee their entry into a secret final that was held somewhere in Tokyo in the same year. Consequently, it is thought that there are only of these cards in existence making it one of the rarest cards of all time.
Heritage Auctions supplied a translation of the text for those of us who don't read Japanese. The front text reads “The Pokémon Card Game Official Tournament's champion is recognized here, and this honor is praised. By presenting this card, you may gain preferential entry into the Secret Super Battle.” The artwork is by Hideki Kazama and features a silhouette of Mewtwo. The reverse of the card is adorned with the Japanese logo and name for the game.
Looking at the card and it' grading we can see that this has been awarded a Gem Mint 10 making it as close to perfect as you are going to get. Of the other 7 cards thought to be in existence, 6 have been given this grading, but despite the grading and rarety, the sale figure of $90,000 is way below that of the most expensive Pokémon card. That honor goes to the Pikachu Illustrator card, a promo card from a tournament the previous year (1998) that was given to 39 winners. Of those 39, only 19 are thought to be in existence which undoubtedly has pushed the price up. According to Guinness World Records, the record sale occurred last year for the paltry sum of $190,000.
This isn't the first time a collectible card game card has sold for big money. Back in the early days of Magic The Gathering, a card known as Black Lotus was released. It was overpowered for the game and was subsequently removed in later editions. Consequently, it has always commanded a high price, but in 2019 it sold for over $160,000. Who knows what treasures may be hiding in our game collections!
Source: CBR