NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News
Pokémon cards have dramatically increased in value during the global COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report by Reuters.
“When COVID-19 hit, a lot of Gen X and Millennials were looking for things to do and we found a lot of these guys and girls started playing Pokémon again because they grew up with it,” Joe Maddalena, the executive vice president of Texas-based Heritage Auctions said of the increase in demand.
In recent months, a 1999 U.S. first edition set sold for $400,000 (£283,158), while a single mint condition Charizard card sold for $300,000 (£212,370). Maddelena added that the same Charizard card would have fetched around $16,000 (£11,329) in late 2019.
The demand for Pokémon cards has been well-documented in recent months, after the limited-edition Pokémon and McDonalds Happy Meal was targeted by scalpers looking to sell the cards contained within.
This resulted in the Limited Edition Happy Meal selling out across America, with some boxes going missing before even making it into stores.
Heritage Auctions has a special event planned for the 25th anniversary of Pokémon, in which it will sell what is considered the “holy grail” of Pokémon card sets – a sealed, 1999 Wizards of the Coast base set.
“The last one, we sold for $406,000 – who knows what it could go for?,” added Maddelena.
Pokémon Go’s next season, the ‘Season Of Legends” will officially begin in March and is set to feature a number of legendaries.
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