Goldin closed its Pokémon & TCG Auction with a $16.492 million sale of Logan Paul’s PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator, setting a Guinness World Records-certified benchmark for the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction.
Guinness-Certified: Goldin Sells Pikachu Illustrator for $16.5M“This is an historic night for not only the Pokémon community, it is an historic night for the entire collectible community,” said Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin. “We just keep showing there are no barriers. These key things that we all love and appreciate keep going up, keep setting records, and keep bringing people together.”
Originally, Paul had agreed to hand-deliver the card to the winning bidder. Instead, the buyer — AJ Scaramucci of Solari Capital — revealed he was already present at Goldin’s headquarters, allowing the transaction to conclude immediately after the hammer fell.
“This right here is what makes collecting so special–this hobby is unbelievably fun,” Paul said. “I love the community aspect of it, getting to meet other collectors and connect over our shared passion. It has been amazing working on this with my friend Ken Goldin, who has changed Pokémon forever in such a great way.”
In the run-up to the auction close, Goldin and Paul hosted a first-edition Pokémon box break livestream on Paul’s Youtube channel, attended by a Guinness representative and prior Goldin auction winners. The Pokémon box break yielded rare Mewtwo, Chansey, and Blastoise cards, adding theatrical flair to an already headline-grabbing event.
Beyond the Pikachu Illustrator, the sale featured more than 300 lots, including graded cards, sealed booster boxes, original artwork, and vintage video games from the series. Competitive bidding spanned multiple price tiers, signaling broad demand across the TCG market.
Among the additional record prices: a 1999 Pokémon Base Set 1st Edition Holo Charizard graded PSA 10 sold for $954,808, while a 1996 Japanese Base Set holo uncut sheet fetched $613,801. A factory-sealed 1st Edition booster box realized $496,000, and several rare promotional and sealed Game Boy titles set category highs.
The company is set to launch its Pokémon 151 auction on Feb. 20, timed to the game’s 30th anniversary, and its Winter Vintage Elite Auction closes Feb. 21, headlined by a newly discovered 1909 T206 Honus Wagner. The latest result suggests that at the upper echelons of the hobby, rarity plus narrative can command prices that rival fine art.
FAQ What made the Pikachu Illustrator card so valuable?It is the only PSA 10-graded example and is widely regarded as the pinnacle of Pokémon TCG collectibles. How much did Logan Paul’s Pikachu Illustrator sell for?The card sold for $16,492,000 at Goldin’s February auction. Was the sale officially recognized as a record?Yes, the result was certified by Guinness World Records as the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction. Who bought the card?AJ Scaramucci, founder and managing partner of Solari Capital, was revealed as the winning bidder.
