How Many Pikachu Illustrator Cards Exist That Have Appeared in Books?
The Pikachu Illustrator card stands out as one of the rarest and most valuable Pokemon cards ever made. It comes from a 1998 Japanese promotion run by CoroCoro Comic, a popular magazine for kids that featured Pokemon content[1][3]. To win one, young readers had to enter an illustration contest announced in the magazine’s pages. Winners got the card as a prize, making it directly tied to that book-like publication[1].
Experts believe only about 39 of these cards were ever produced in total. That number comes from the contest details shared in CoroCoro, where organizers printed just enough for the top entries[1]. Not all survive today, and estimates put the known existing copies between 13 and maybe up to 100, though the lower end feels more realistic based on what’s surfaced in auctions[1].
When it comes to cards that have actually appeared in books, the count drops even lower. These are the ones documented in CoroCoro issues or related publications, either shown as contest examples or awarded to winners whose stories ran in print[3]. Reliable collector sources point to just a handful fitting this description, with only a few confirmed through magazine scans and historical records[1]. For instance, the famous copy owned by Logan Paul, which sold for over 5 million dollars in 2021, traces back to a winner featured in CoroCoro[1][4].
Grading companies like PSA have only authenticated a small number overall. One report notes just one graded copy linked to a book mention sold for over 110 thousand dollars[1]. High-profile sales, like the private deal for 5.28 million dollars, highlight cards with that magazine provenance, but they remain super exclusive[1][4].
For pricing fans, this scarcity drives insane values. A near-mint PSA 9 version hit that record price, while ungraded or lower-grade ones from book-tied origins still fetch hundreds of thousands[1]. If you’re hunting one, check auction histories for CoroCoro-verified examples, as they command the top dollar[1][4]. Keep an eye on private sales too, since not every book-connected card hits public markets.
