The world's most expensive card sold for $16.5 million: everything behind Logan Paul's Pikachu Illustrator
From the $60,000 its previous owner paid in 2015 to the $16.5 million Goldin auction. Full history, PSA 10 grading controversies, company comparisons and real price analysis of the most famous Pokémon card ever.
On February 16, 2026, auction house Goldin closed the most expensive card sale in the history of collecting: a Pikachu Illustrator graded PSA 10, owned by Logan Paul, sold for $13,300,000 (£9,930,000 / €11,510,000), which with Goldin's 24% buyer's premium rose to $16,492,000 (£12,310,000 / €14,270,000).
The auction was open for over a month and Logan Paul actively promoted it on his social media . The event was livestreamed and also included the opening of first-generation Pokémon TCG booster packs, whose contents were authenticated by PSA before being sent to the auction winners.
But this record-breaking figure didn't come out of nowhere. Behind it lies a story that begins with contests in a Japanese magazine in 1997, passes through a $60,000 eBay purchase, a secret exchange in Dubai and an $80,000 gold chain. And there's also a question that many collectors are asking: is this card really worth $16.5 million?
The buyer: Alexander J. Scaramucci
The auction winner was Alexander J. Scaramucci, a young entrepreneur and manager of the investment fund Solaris Capital, with a notable career in the technology and finance sectors. Alexander is the son of Anthony Scaramucci , known for being a former White House Communications Director.
The origin of the card: a contest in Japan in 1997
The Pikachu Illustrator card was designed by Atsuko Nishida, the original creator of Pikachu's design. Between late 1997 and early 1998, the Japanese magazine CoroCoro Comic held several Pokémon illustration contests. The winners received an exclusive card as their prize: the Pikachu Illustrator.
The exact number of copies awarded is unknown, though it is estimated to be fewer than 100. Today, approximately 50 Pikachu Illustrator cards are known to exist.
The card's value is not based solely on its rarity. There are Pokémon cards with only 1, 3 or 10 known copies, but the Pikachu Illustrator is a cultural symbol within the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Its artwork, its history tied to the franchise's origins and its media spotlight make it the most sought-after card in the world.
How professional card grading works
Card collectors place enormous value on condition. Specialized companies authenticate and encapsulate cards in protective cases, assigning them a numerical grade based on criteria such as corner condition, centering, and the front and back surfaces.
The most important company in the industry is PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator), founded in 1991. To date, it has authenticated and encapsulated over 150 million cards, including sports, Pokémon and other categories, and controls approximately 70% of the card grading market.
Why does the grade matter so much? The price difference between a card graded 9 and one graded 10 can be enormous. A common multiplier is x10: a card valued at $100,000 (£74,700 / €86,500) with a PSA 9 can reach $1,000,000 (£747,000 / €865,000) or more with a PSA 10. In the case of the Pikachu Illustrator, this gap is even more extreme because only one copy has ever received a PSA 10.
Major card grading companies
PSA is not the only card grading company in the industry. Although it holds the largest market share, it faces strong competitors that have also graded Pikachu Illustrator Holo specimens. Here is an overview:
|
Company |
Total Pikachu Illustrator |
Grade 9 |
Grade 10 (highest) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
PSA |
15 |
1 |
|
|
CGC |
7 |
6 |
|
|
Beckett (BGS) |
2 |
0 |
|
|
TAG |
4 |
1 |
In total, 87 cards have been graded across these 4 companies, although the number can be misleading, as it is common for people to crack open encapsulated cards and resubmit them to a different grading company if they are unhappy with the grade received from a specific one.
CGC (Certified Guaranty Company) deserves a special mention. It was born from the Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) group, which began grading coins in 1987. In 2000 they started with comics and in 2020 they made the leap to collectible cards, quickly becoming the second most relevant company in the market.
TAG is a company founded in 2022 that introduced a different approach: it exclusively uses complex algorithms and artificial intelligence analysis to grade cards, eliminating human intervention and potential inspector bias. After grading 99,999 cards, they convinced a collector to crack open the case of his CGC 10-graded Pikachu Illustrator and submit it as card number 100,000. The result of the millimetric condition analysis was a 10, with a score of 955 out of 1000, confirming that the card deserved its top grade.
The complete history of the Pikachu Illustrator PSA 10
The journey of this specific card, from its first appearance on the market to the 2026 record-breaking auction, is a fascinating story that encapsulates the evolution of Pokémon card collecting.
September 2014
The card is authenticated by PSA and receives a grade of 10 (Gem Mint). This date is estimated because the card's serial number ( 23000982 ) corresponds to the certification range from that period.
2015
Collector Marwan Alkhaja (Dubsy) purchases the card in a private eBay auction through PWCC (which would later become Fanatics Collect) for exactly $60,000 (£44,800 / €51,900). Dubsy himself confirmed this in an Instagram post on the 10th anniversary of the purchase.
November 19, 2020
Dubsy trades his second Pikachu Illustrator card (graded PSA 9) with Italian collector Matt Allen (Marco). The value of this transaction was not disclosed.
2021 - First contact
Logan Paul learns that a PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator exists. Jeremy Padawer puts him in contact with Dubsy, but Dubsy sets a condition: he will only sell if he receives cash and a PSA 9 Pikachu Illustrator, because he doesn't want to be left without the card in his collection.
Early July 2021
Through intermediary Mohannad Ashtar (Nidouken), a close friend of Dubsy, Logan Paul contacts Marco and purchases his PSA 9 Pikachu Illustrator for $1,275,000 (£952,000 / €1,103,000).
July 13, 2021
Logan Paul flies to Dubai. He meets with Dubsy and closes the deal: he hands over the PSA 9 card plus $4,000,000 (£2,988,000 / €3,461,000) in cash in exchange for the Pikachu Illustrator PSA 10. The total acquisition cost was $5,275,000 (£3,940,000 / €4,564,000).
April 4, 2022
Logan Paul publicly reveals that he owns the card. He is awarded a Guinness World Record for the most expensive collectible card ever sold. He commissions an $80,000 (£59,800 / €69,200) gold and diamond chain to wear the card around his neck.
February 16, 2026
The card sells at Goldin for $16,492,000 (£12,310,000 / €14,270,000) (including buyer's premium). Alexander J. Scaramucci becomes the new owner. Second world record sale.
From $60,000 to $16.5 million: the appreciation in numbers
Transaction history of the Pikachu Illustrator PSA 10
|
Date |
Transaction |
Price |
Appreciation |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2015 |
Dubsy purchases on eBay/PWCC |
$60,000 (£44,800 / €51,900) |
- |
|
July 2021 |
Logan Paul buys from Dubsy (PSA 9 + cash) |
$5,275,000 (£3,940,000 / €4,564,000) |
x88 in 6 years |
|
February 2026 |
Sold at Goldin to A. Scaramucci |
$16,492,000 (£12,310,000 / €14,270,000) |
x275 since 2015 · x3.1 since 2021 |
In 2015, Pokémon TCG card collecting was a much smaller niche. Between 2020 and 2021, prices skyrocketed: most cards multiplied their value by 10 or even 20 in just a few months, driven by the massive influx of new collectors and social media exposure.
When Logan Paul revealed his purchase in April 2022, no Pokémon card had previously been known to sell for more than $1,000,000. The announcement was a complete media revolution and sparked debate for weeks.
The controversy: does it really deserve a PSA 10?
This is the point that generates the most debate among experienced collectors. PSA has not always maintained the same grading standards. It is widely known in the community that PSA has significantly tightened its criteria in recent years, especially for awarding the top grade of 10.
The Pikachu Illustrator PSA 10 card has serial number 23000982 . Although PSA does not display the exact grading date, the fact that the serial begins at 23,000,000 allows us to estimate that it was authenticated in September 2014, when the standards for achieving a 10 were considerably more lenient.
Key fact: there are small visible defects on this card that, according to many collectors, would likely prevent it from receiving a 10 if graded today under PSA's current standards.
The re-encapsulation before the auction
Before the Goldin auction, PSA offered to re-encapsulate the card. In recent years, the company has significantly improved the security of its cases, adding a holographic label and a special plastic with UV protection to prevent the card's colors from fading due to sunlight exposure over time.
Re-encapsulation always carries a risk for the owner: when PSA receives a card for re-encapsulation, it may review the original grade. It is common for cards graded many years ago to receive a lower grade after this review. A card submitted with a 10 can come back with a 9 or even an 8.
In such cases, PSA offers financial compensation based on the estimated market value difference between the two grades. For this particular card, if the grade had dropped from 10 to 9, the compensation could have exceeded $10,000,000 (£7,469,000 / €8,652,000).
Ultimately, PSA maintained the grade of 10 and the card was re-encapsulated with the new protections.
Are there Pikachu Illustrator cards in better condition?
Very likely. When Logan Paul announced his purchase in April 2022, PSA had graded 39 Pikachu Illustrator cards, of which only one received a 10. Today, PSA has graded 47 cards (8 more in 4 years, motivated by the price and fame the card achieved thanks to Logan Paul), but none other has earned a 10.
However, the situation at CGC is different. Of the 23 Pikachu Illustrator cards it has graded, 6 have received a 10. While it is likely that CGC has been somewhat less strict in its criteria, it is worth remembering that the PSA card was graded in 2014 under more permissive standards. Some of these 6 CGC 10 cards could be in better condition than Logan Paul's card.
Recent Pikachu Illustrator sales
Logan Paul's auction was not the only significant Pikachu Illustrator sale in February and March 2026. These sales, close in time, help put the price into context:
Pikachu Illustrator sales in February-March 2026
|
Date |
Grade |
Auction house |
Final price |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Feb 16, 2026 |
PSA 10 |
$16,492,000 |
Logan Paul's card. World record. 24% buyer's premium included. |
|
|
Feb 17, 2026 |
CGC 10 |
≈ $2,200,000 |
¥14,500,000 CNY. No buyer's premium. CGC record . |
|
|
Mar 9, 2026 |
PSA 8.5 |
$727,120 |
Buyer's premium included. |
The data reveals staggering differences. One day after Logan Paul's record sale, a Pikachu Illustrator graded CGC 10 sold on PokeColor, the largest Pokémon card auction platform in China, for approximately $2.2 million (£1,643,000 / €1,903,000). Unlike Western auction houses, in China the buyer generally pays no additional premium, as only the seller pays between 5% and 7% of the sale price. CGC celebrated the news on March 5, 2026 as the record for the most expensive CGC-graded Pokémon card ever sold.
Three weeks later, a Pikachu Illustrator graded PSA 8.5 sold at Goldin for $727,120 (£543,000 / €629,200), a figure far from $16.5 million but consistent with a lower grade.
Is it really worth $16.5 million? Price analysis
If we base our assessment exclusively on condition and rarity, a Pikachu Illustrator in similar condition to the PSA 10 could be valued in the range of $1 to $2 million (£747,000 to £1,494,000 / €865,000 to €1,730,000). The CGC 10 sale for $2.2 million, just one day later, confirms this.
So why would someone pay $16.5 million?
Because Alexander J. Scaramucci didn't just buy a Pokémon card. He bought the Pokémon card: the only one graded PSA 10 by the company that controls 70% of the grading market, authenticated by the most recognized brand in the industry. He bought a card that accompanied Logan Paul for over 4 years, that holds 2 world sale records, that has been headline news in countless media outlets and has received more social media exposure than any other collectible in history.
Sources and profiles mentioned
-
Video where Logan Paul announces the auction youtube.com
-
Goldin auction (Logan Paul's card): goldin.co
-
PSA - Certificate #23000982: psacard.com
-
CGC - $2M record announcement: cgccards.com
-
TAG Grading - Analysis of a 10/10 card: taggrading.com
-
PokeColor - CGC 10 auction in China: pokecolor.cn
-
Pikachu Illustrator journey by Dubsy: Instagram
-
Goldin - PSA 8.5 auction: goldin.co
-
Logan Paul: Instagram · Announcement tweet
-
Dubsy (Marwan Alkhaja): Instagram
-
Marco (Matt Allen): Instagram
-
Jeremy Padawer: Instagram
-
AJ Scaramucci: LinkedIn
About the author
Museum App Team@museumapp
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