How Many Pikachu Illustrator Cards Are Still Known to Exist Today?
If you follow Pokemon card prices, the Pikachu Illustrator card sits at the top as the holy grail of collecting. This special promo card comes from a 1998 Japanese illustration contest run by CoroCoro magazine. Only 39 winners got one as their prize, making it ultra-rare from the start.[2][3]
Experts believe just a handful of these cards remain known today. Sources point to around 13 to maybe 100 total copies out there, but the real number of confirmed ones is much lower. Professional grading companies like PSA have only seen a tiny fraction. For example, Logan Paul bought the one and only PSA 10 gem mint version in 2022 for over 5 million dollars. It is the single perfect copy tracked by graders.[2][3][4]
That PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator hit headlines because no other like it has surfaced in top condition. Other known copies exist in lower grades, but they rarely show up for sale. The card’s value stays sky-high due to this scarcity. Even imperfect ones can fetch huge sums at auction, though nothing touches the pristine Paul-owned card.[2][4]
Collectors track these through sales records and grading reports. Sites like PriceCharting and auction houses log every rare Pikachu move, but the Illustrator stays mysterious. No full public list exists of all owners, which adds to the chase. If a new one pops up graded high, prices for all could spike again.[1][2]
For price watchers, this means the Pikachu Illustrator drives the ultra-rare market. Its known count hovers low, with maybe a dozen or so verified in collections worldwide. Keep an eye on grading news, as each discovery shifts the value landscape for everyone holding Pokemon promos.
