Catch Pokémon card collection before it’s all sold at auction!
RARE SETS ARE EXPECTED TO SELL FOR THOUSANDS
A RARE collection of Pokémon cards is expected to sell for £75,000 when it goes under the hammer near Burton.
The collection includes many cards worth thousands alone and will take bids at Richard Winterton’s Fradley Park auction house.
At present the collection is owned by Gordon White, who has been collecting the cards for years. Gordon also used to run clubs where fans could pit themselves against each other in the strategy game, which went on to become a major Nintendo system computer game franchise.
The collection includes lots carrying estimates of up to £4,000. Gordon explained his enthusiasm for the cards and why his collection is worth so much.
“In there are a lot of cards you just can’t get”, he said. The dad-of-two, from West Lothian, Scotland, had previously run a Pokémon league, and even acted as a judge at UK events.
He said: “It all started as my children wanted to get involved in the Pokémon league and we decided on the one at Megazone in Falkirk,” he said.
“My kids got really good at the game and, as I was the only parent turning up there all the time and I’d started playing the card game too, I was delegated! So I ended up running that league for 16 years and every time a new set came out it cost me in the region of £1,000.
“Some of the cards were then passed back to the kids for various events and tournaments, and others ended up in my collection. It just went up and up.
“It’s like playing chess with cards, it’s so complicated a game. It used to be simpler, but it isn’t anymore – there are more cards and more things to affect other cards.”
The impressive collection includes several high-value cards. These are:
Skyridge set (Lot 22, estimate £3,000-£4,000);
Neo Destiny set (Lot 15; £3,000-£4,000);
Legendary Collection Reverse Holo set including Charizard 3/111 (Lot 1 7 , £2,500-£3,500); EX Team Rocket Returns set (Lot 36, £1,500-£2,000);
Aquapolis set (Lot 20, £1,500-£2,000), and
Sykridge Reverse Holo set (Lot 23, £1,500-£2,000).
Other highlights in the collection include the complete Pokémon Nintendo Black Star promotional collection, estimated to fetch between £2,000 and £3,000.
Most of the cards are UK editions and were purchased at their date of issue.
“As a way to sum it up, you’ve got to use the Pokémon trademark – gotta catch ‘em all!,” said Gordon.
“For me, the fun is the completing – not the collectin. And as far as I’m concerned I’ve completed it, so it’s time to pass it all on.”
The collection is estimated to be worth between £55,000 and £75,000 and is being auctioned in a special timed online sale, live now and ending at 5pm on Sunday, November 27.
Gordon eventually stopped playing the game back in 2014 after 15 years. He became widely known in the community, and has rubbed shoulders with some of its most prestigious exponents.
“I was very well known in the Pokémon TCG community and I’ve had a lot of enjoyment out of the game,” he said.
Another large collection of Gordon’s trading cards – this time focusing on Magic The Gathering and including Marvel vs DC, The Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter – will go on sale through Richard Winterton Auctioneers in 2023.
He said: “People ask me what I collect and I say ‘collections.’ When it comes to Pokémon though, I’ve completed it.”
The record for the most expensive Pokémon card bought at auction is currently held by WWE superstar Logan Paul. He paid an eye-watering $4,000,000 (just under £3,380,000) for the card, as well as handing over another card worth $1,275,000 for a total of $5,275,000 (just under £4,457,000).
The card was a so-called “illustrator” card. These are particularly valuable because they are only handed out at tournaments, making them
very rare.