Auction of Pokémon trading cards at Ewbank's brings in whopping £136,000

LOT AFTER lot of rarities from Pokémon Trading Card Game soared above estimate to create a premium-inclusive sale total of more than £136,000 when they went under the hammer at Ewbank’s on August 5.

For the Send-based firm’s partner Andrew Ewbank, who has been running trading-cards sales from a dedicated department for nearly two years, this was proof of the strength of what has become a major collecting field.

He said: “Complete sets of rare issues sparked the most competition, and we had a lot of them.

“Bidders were particularly attracted by sets collected by people who had worked with issuer Wizards of the Coast in the early days, back in the late 1990s.”

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Top price of the sale was the premium-inclusive £10,400 paid for a factory-sealed Pokémon Trading Card Game base set booster box, Unlimited.

Containing 36 packs, this was the first Pokémon set, released in 1999 and the start of the trading- card phenomenon.

A German version of the first edition, also factory sealed, took £9,100.

A number of sets went beyond high estimates, including a complete first-edition Neo Genesis set at £4,420; an uncut Fossil holo sheet featuring holographic cards from the Fossil expansion (£2,080); a complete Wizards of the Coast Black Star promo set with numerous cards, including Ancient Mew, sealed (£2,600); and a complete EX Dragon Master set featuring every regular card, holo and reverse holo, as well as the three secret rare cards (Charizard line) and a reverse-holo TV Reporter (£3,380).

Individual cards making big prices included a first-edition Shining Charizard – Neo Destiny, number 107, PSA-graded nine, mint. It made £3,120.

Andrew said: “Collectors really know their stuff in this complex world of issues and variants when it comes to cards and packs.

“Pokémon may be a relatively new collecting field but make no mistake, it demands even more expertise and knowledge than many other more traditional disciplines and, as our sale shows, can be a high-stakes world in which to operate.”

One of the reasons he believes the market is booming is that the children who first became obsessed by trading- card games in the 1990s are now middle-aged adults with money to spend collecting them.

Andrew said: “Magic: The Gathering was the first trading- card game and launched exactly 30 years ago.

“Yu-Gi-Oh! is the other globally-popular game. But it is Pokémon that is the most sought after of all games and is proving its longevity in a market already measured in billions of dollars by value globally.

“As with other collectables like this, wear and tear over the years means that as these games get older, fewer and fewer mint or factory-sealed examples survive, helping to build even more value to the market.”

Ewbank’s have produced a guide to collecting Pokémon.

It can be downloaded in PDF format from their website, www.ewbankauctions.co.uk

For valuations, please get in touch with the team at the Burnt Common Auction Rooms.

Call 01483 223101 or email [email protected]

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