Pikachu Illustrator cards with original contest letters are among the rarest Pokemon treasures, and only a tiny handful exist in the world.
These special cards come from a 1998 Pokemon illustration contest in Japan run by CoroCoro magazine. Kids entered drawings of Pikachu, and the top 39 winners got these promo cards as prizes. Each card was mailed with an official letter from the contest, proving it was a legit winner’s prize. That letter makes the card even more special, as it ties it directly back to the event.
Experts believe just 39 Pikachu Illustrator cards were ever made, one for each winner. But not all still have their original contest letters. Over the years, some letters got lost, thrown away, or separated from the cards. Today, only about 13 to 20 of these cards are known to still exist with their letters intact. Some sources say the number could be as low as 13, based on what’s been graded by PSA or shown in big auctions. Others put it closer to 20, counting ungraded ones owned by private collectors.
Why so few? Time has not been kind. Cards from 1998 have been through decades of storage, travel, and handling. Many winners were kids who might not have saved the letter. Plus, the cards are so valuable now that fakes and resales mix things up. A PSA 10 version without a letter sold for millions, like the one Logan Paul bought for over 5 million dollars. Ones with letters? They are even harder to find and fetch top prices at auctions.
Grading services like PSA track what they see. So far, only a few Pikachu Illustrators have popped up with proof of their contest letters. Collectors hunt for them because they tell the full story of that historic contest. If you own one, hang on tight, check for that letter, and get it graded. It could be worth a fortune. Prices keep climbing as more people learn about these holy grails of Pokemon cards. Keep an eye on sales sites for any new sightings, but expect them to vanish fast.
