Owner of unopened Pokémon cards could catch thousands at auction

By Jack Evans via SWNS

Card collector Geoff Brown, 64, says he was left gobsmacked when he found out the potential value of the cards he purchased at a memorabilia convention in the '90s.

The retired engineer has since kept the Pokémon Base Set Booster Box, Charizard (Blue Wing), 1996-99 set in their original Wizards of the Coast cellophane.

The card game memorabilia is now set to go under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers, in Etwall, Derbyshire, on Tuesday (10/19) with an estimate of $12,000-$17,400.

“I purchased this item when it was on general release in the late 1990s," said Brown.“I am an avid trading card collector but not of Pokémon.

“My son and daughter were Pokémon collectors and I purchased three boxes at a memorabilia convention at Birmingham’s NEC.

“One box went to my son, one to my daughter and I put the other box into storage with my trading cards. I paid about $90 per box.

“I never imagined it would ever be quite so valuable but I always knew it was worth keeping.

“My children are now grown up but still own well-kept Pokémon collections, including a number of Japanese Pokémon I purchased while working in Japan.

“I decided to sell it now because the current interest in Pokémon is high. It’s a great opportunity.”

“It’s a spectacular find and amazing to think those Pokémon cards, bought for just $90, have gone up in value so much," said David Wilson-Turner, head of the Toys and Gaming Department at Hansons. “This box of cards could potentially earn enough money at auction to buy, say, a car, even though the condition is not absolutely perfect.

“The top part of the box has been slightly pushed in.

“However, it’s thought it could be flattened out by turning the box upside down.

“The U-seal is intact and cellophane fully sealed, though there are slight knocks and dinks to the edge of the box.

“Pokémon trading cards are massively popular to buy and collect and have been steadily rising in value for more than five years now.

“Wealthy young people in their 20s and 30s who got into Pokémon when they were children are buying rare cards and prices have spiked.

“For example, a 26-year-old boxer and YouTuber called Logan Paul caught the media’s attention when he wore a rare first edition Base Set Charizard Pokémon card as a medallion round his neck as he entered the ring for an exhibition fight.

"He bought the card for $150,000 (£108,117).

“Prices could be fuelled even more this year because of Pokémon25, an ongoing celebration to mark the 25th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise, which began with the original Japanese release of Pocket Monsters Red and Green for Game Boy on February 27, 1996.”