15 hours ago
3
Logan Paul's bejeweled PSA 10-graded Pikachu Illustrator Pokémon trading paper has been sold astatine auction for a staggering $16,492,000, mounting a caller record.
The magnitude makes it, by far, the astir costly trading paper ever sold — a grounds the aforesaid paper besides held erstwhile Paul bought it backmost successful 2021 for $5.27 million. In this caller sale, an chartless purchaser placed the winning bid of $13 cardinal to unafraid the card, with the further $3.49 cardinal added successful auction fees.
Why has it sold for specified a immense amount? Well, astatine a basal level, the Pikachu Illustrator is 1 of the rarest Pokémon cards retired there, and its eyebrow-raising PSA 10 grading makes it genuinely unsocial and technically flawless. But Paul himself has done a batch to personally effort and rise the card's worth — and precise successfully so. Minus the auction fees, Paul apt stands to marque much than $7 cardinal successful profit.
Paul has mounted the paper successful a $70,000 jewel-encrusted necklace (also included successful the auction) that helium past wore for his WWE debut astatine WrestleMania 38. Announcing the auction past month, Paul past promised to hand-deliver the paper — which helium billed arsenic "the Mona Lisa of collectibles" — to its eventual owner.
Over the people of the auction, respective different incidents ensured the paper (and Paul) remained successful the nationalist eye. A brief, bizarre play involving OnlyFans contented creator Emmie Bunni — including a phantom $10.2 cardinal bid and an AI photograph of her holding the paper — prompted a assertion by Paul that her actions had enactment disconnected further interest. Last week, the influencer-wrestler besides got progressive successful the contention surrounding Super Bowl LX fractional clip amusement creator Bad Bunny, and astatine loggerheads connected the contented with his member Jake Paul. Just days later, the auction reached its climax with a flurry of precocious bids.
And successful general, there's the information that Pokémon cards person seldom been hotter. This auction has been well-timed, successful the run-up to Pokémon's large 30th day celebrations. (Fans are expecting the aboriginal of the franchise to beryllium announced connected the series' existent day adjacent week, connected February 27, alongside much details of the promising-looking Pokémon beingness simulation spin-off Pokémon Pokopia.)
Image credit: Logan Paul.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
English (CA) · 
English (US) · 
Spanish (MX) ·