Logan Paul's rare Pokemon card becomes most expensive ever sold in record-setting auction

A PSA 10-graded Pikachu Illustrator card owned by content creator and WWE superstar Logan Paul has sold at auction for a whopping $16,492,000.

The card was purchased by Paul in another record-breaking sale back in 2021, when it became the most expensive Pokemon card sold at a private sale for $5,275,000.

This time, the card was sold via online auction house Goldin and a Guinness World Records Adjudicator was at the event to verify that the purchase had made it the most expensive Pokemon card sold at auction.

It also broke the overall record for the most expensive trading card sold at auction.

It was purchased by AJ Scaramucci, who received the card at the event when it was placed around his neck at the end of the auction attached to a $75,000 diamond necklace.

You may have seen the card around the neck of Paul previously as he made his WrestleMania debut in 2022 wearing the piece when he teamed with veteran WWE superstar The Miz.

He originally bought the card from Marwan Dubsy in Dubai, trading a PSA Grade 9 Pikachu Illustrator card and an extra $4 million.

“Only 39 were given out to illustration contest winners in 1998, and this was a purchase for the only one in the world that has been graded a perfect 10,” he said.

Pikachu Illustrator is extremely popular with collectors due to it being designed by Atsuko Nishida (Japan), who is credited as the original creator of Pikachu.

It was never originally sold and was only released as a prize in a 1998 illustration contest.

Graded by the Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), cards are given numbers based on their attributes such as perfectly rounded edges, sharp focus and full, original gloss.

Read about more people who've collected record-breaking things in our dedicated Collections section.

Their grading works from 0 to 10, with 10 being a 'Gem Mint'.

Back at the event at Goldin's headquarters in Philadelphia, New Jersey, USA, there was an anxious wait to find out how much the card would eventually sell for.

Despite the auction closing, an extended bidding period of 30 minutes means that any new bids entered for the card would keep extending the sale.

A flurry of activity occurred in the last hour, with bidders pushing the price just past the $6 million mark.

In the next two hours and 44 minutes, that price jumped dramatically up to the eventual winning bid of $13.3 million.

The final number announced of $16,492,000 includes a buyer's premium, which is standard for all auction houses.