A PSA Grade 7 Pikachu Illustrator Pokémon card sold for $900,000 at Goldin Auctions on 23 February 2022, according to Guinness World Records. It was a record-setting auction at the time, but it is no longer the most expensive Pokémon card sale: Guinness now lists a separate Pikachu Illustrator card that sold for $16,492,000 at auction in February 2026.
How much did the Pikachu Illustrator card sell for?
The card in the headline brought in $900,000 at Goldin Auctions on 23 February 2022. Guinness World Records identified it as a PSA Grade 7 Pikachu Illustrator. That figure belongs to this specific auction; it should not be confused with Logan Paul’s $5,275,000 private transaction the year before.
Why was the Pikachu Illustrator card so rare?
Pikachu Illustrator cards were prizes for winners of a 1998 illustration contest. Guinness’s 2022 account said 39 were given out. The same account reported that PSA had graded 20 at that time: eight received Grade 9 and one received Grade 10. Those are figures from the 2022 account, not a current grading census.
The card’s contest origin and scarcity distinguish it from ordinary Pokémon cards, but rarity alone does not determine a sale price. Condition and the circumstances of a particular transaction matter, too.
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How does the $900,000 auction compare with Logan Paul’s purchase?
Paul’s July 2021 acquisition was a private trade, not the $900,000 auction. Guinness reported the transaction value as $5,275,000: a PSA Grade 9 Pikachu Illustrator valued at $1,275,000, plus $4,000,000, traded for a PSA Grade 10 card. The distinction matters because a private trade and an auction are different kinds of sales.
Guinness’s 2022 explanation described Grade 9 as near perfect, while allowing for minor flaws such as a slight wax stain, a printing imperfection, or slightly off-white borders. It described Grade 10 as virtually perfect, with four sharp corners, sharp focus, and original gloss. Those grading descriptions explain condition; they do not provide a formula for predicting what a card will sell for.
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What is the most expensive Pokémon card ever sold?
As of Guinness World Records’ record page accessed on 7 October 2026, the listed record is $16,492,000 for Logan Paul’s PSA Gem Mint 10 Pikachu Illustrator. Guinness says the card sold through Goldin Auctions on 16 February 2026 and that the reported total includes buyer’s premium.
| Transaction | Sale type and date | Card and grade | Reported amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goldin Auctions sale | Auction, 23 February 2022 | Pikachu Illustrator, PSA Grade 7 | $900,000 |
| Logan Paul acquisition | Private trade, 22 July 2021 | Pikachu Illustrator, PSA Grade 10 | $5,275,000 |
| Logan Paul record sale | Auction, 16 February 2026 | Pikachu Illustrator, PSA Gem Mint 10 | $16,492,000, including buyer’s premium |
The three amounts describe different transactions, dates, and grades. In particular, the $900,000 Grade 7 auction and the later Grade 10 record auction are not like-for-like comparisons, so they do not establish a simple price-per-grade scale.
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