Pikachu Illustrator
On multiple occasions, the Pikachu Illustrator card set the record for the most expensive Pokémon card ever sold. Pikachu Illustrator was initially offered to winners of promotional contests run by Japanese magazine CoroCoro Comic in 1997 and 1998. The victors received 39 copies, with two copies subsequently discovered in 2020 by one of the card game's co-creators, Yuichi Konno, bringing the total number of Pikachu Illustrator copies in existence to 41.
It is the only Pokémon card with the word "Illustrator" rather than "Trainer" at the top of the card, and it features a one-of-a-kind pen icon in the bottom-right corner to acknowledge its creation for the design contest. Pikachu's artwork on the card is by Atsuko Nishida, the original creator of the fan-favorite Pokémon. Only 23 copies of the Pikachu Illustrator card have been authenticated to date by the Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) in charge of assessing cards' condition, suggesting that a handful of the exceedingly rare Pokémon cards may possibly emerge.
A PSA grade 10 copy of the exceedingly rare Pokémon card, alleged to be the only such pristine copy in existence, was purportedly purchased in July 2021 for a record $5,275,000 by YouTuber Logan Paul, making it by far the most expensive Pokémon card ever exchanged.
Price: $5.275 million
