“We Couldn’t Believe It” – Man’s Forgotten Pokémon Collection Sells For $2 Million
A man from Woking, England, discovered that the Pokémon cards he had stored in his loft for 15 years were worth a fortune, and sold the collection at auction for £1.56 million, just over $2 million. He had not realised how valuable the cards had become until a local newspaper reported that one card had sold for more than £6,000.
His son began collecting in the late 1990s, and the father joined in, partly seeing the cards as a possible investment. Among the sale’s highlights, a complete set bought for £300 sold for £75,000, while a Legendary Collection Complete Master Set fetched £100,000. Auction house Ewbanks said it was the UK’s most valuable trading card auction and could set a European record.
In short
- A forgotten Pokémon card collection sold for £1.56 million.
- It had been stored in a loft for 15 years.
- A set bought for £300 fetched £75,000.
Explained simply
Pokémon began as a video game series and grew into a global franchise, including a trading card game launched in the 1990s. Players and collectors buy cards featuring Pokémon characters; some early or rare cards can become valuable, depending on their condition and demand.
The cards are traded and sold by collectors, with specialist auction houses sometimes handling large collections. A complete set brings together cards from a particular release, while a “master set” generally includes all the cards and variants in that release.
The market matters to collectors, sellers and buyers because card prices can rise well beyond their original cost, though values vary and are not guaranteed. High-profile sales can also draw attention to how much older collections may be worth.