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Pokemon Card News, October 2026: Every High-Value Sale, Bid and Theft

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The biggest Pokemon card news of the past month: Fanatics Collect’s October 23 Premier got $1,380,000 for a PSA 10 1st Edition Charizard, a Trophy Pikachu is bid at $2,525,000 at Goldin ahead of Sunday night’s close, and about $963,000 of PSA-graded cards were stolen from a FedEx truck in Santa Ana. Below is every high-value story from late September to October 24, 2026, newest first, with the date, the headline figure and whether it is a sale or a bid.

As of October 24, 2026: sale prices below are final results as published by the auction house or the outlet named. Goldin figures are live bids read on the evening of October 24 and will change. Where a source says the buyer’s premium is included, we say so.

Pokemon card news at a glance

Date Story Headline figure Sale, bid or other
Closes Oct 25-26 Goldin 30th Anniversary Auction, Trophy Pikachu PSA 8 $2,525,000 ($3,080,500 with premium) Bid
Oct 23 1st Edition Charizard PSA 10, Fanatics Premier $1,380,000 with premium Sale
Oct 11 to 23 Legendary Collection reverse holo Charizard PSA 10 $600,000, $576,000, $468,000 Sales
Oct 21 Ewbank’s attic collection, UK £1.56 million (about $2.1 million) Sale total
Oct 13 PSA-graded cards stolen from FedEx truck About $963,000 (police estimate) Theft
Oct 11 and 18 Aquapolis Crystal Lugia PSA 10 $336,000, then $360,000 Sales
Sept 27 and Oct 11 Raincoat Pikachu PSA 10 $8,400,000, then $1,037,000 Sales
Sept 20 and 25 Gold Star Mudkip and Art Academy Mudkip PSA 10 $1,020,000 and $3,720,000 Sales
Sept 20 to Oct 11 Other six-figure singles and lots $408,000 to $960,000 Sales, per SI

1. Goldin’s 30th Anniversary Auction: Trophy Pikachu bid at $2,525,000

Status: bidding, not sold. The top lot in Goldin’s 2026 Pokémon 30th Anniversary Auction is a 1997 Japanese gold 1st Place Trophy Pikachu from the first official tournament, graded PSA 8. When we checked the lot on the evening of October 24, the high bid was $2,525,000 with 32 bids placed; add Goldin’s premium and the page shows $3,080,500.

From 10 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, October 25, the auction switches to extended bidding that anyone can join, and lots close in 30-minute rounds, so final prices land late Sunday night Eastern or early Monday in UTC. Accounts of its rarity differ: ICv2 reported on October 7 that pre-bids had already topped $1 million and called it the only copy in PSA’s census, while Goldin’s own lot text says PSA has recorded eight. The same sale holds three cards from the stories further down (a Raincoat Pikachu and two Mudkips). Full preview: Goldin 30th Anniversary Auction and the Trophy Pikachu.

2. 1st Edition Charizard PSA 10 sells for $1.38 million (October 23)

Status: sold. Fanatics Collect’s October Premier Auction closed on October 23 with a 1999 Base Set Shadowless 1st Edition Charizard in PSA 10 at $1,380,000 including buyer’s premium. It was the top Pokémon lot of the sale; a sports card led the whole auction at $3,240,000.

Fanatics’ own history puts this in context. PSA 10 copies of the card sold there for $528,000 in February and $504,000 in May 2026, so the October price was $876,000 above the May result (our subtraction). Other Pokémon lots in the same Premier included a 1st Edition Shining Magikarp error at $288,000 and a 2010 Japanese National Finalist Master’s Key at $198,000. More: 1st Edition Charizard PSA 10 sells for $1.38 million, and our 1st Edition Charizard price history page.

3. Legendary Collection reverse holo Charizard: three sales, three lower prices

Status: sold. PSA 10 copies of the 2002 Legendary Collection reverse holo Charizard changed hands at Fanatics three times in 12 days. The first, on October 11, made $600,000; the second, a week later, $576,000; the Premier copy on October 23, $468,000. All include premium. The last of those still sits far above the $120,000 a PSA 10 brought on Fanatics in June 2026. Details and the full sales table: Legendary Collection Charizard and Crystal Lugia prices.

4. UK attic collection makes £1.56 million at Ewbank’s (October 21)

Status: sold. A retired decorator from Woking sold the Pokémon master sets he had kept in binders in his attic for about 15 years. IBTimes UK, citing the auction house, reported a total of £1.56 million, or about $2.1 million, at Ewbank’s in Send, Surrey on October 21. The top lot, a Legendary Collection Complete Master Set, reached a hammer price of £100,000 against an estimate of £15,000 to £20,000, and a set he bought for about £300 made £75,000.

Ewbank’s head of trading cards told IBTimes UK they sold 41 of his sets and the owner kept one. Per Ewbank’s, as relayed by Dexerto, the sale beat a UK record set on October 9 at Stanley Gibbons in London. Whether the £1.56 million includes buyer’s premium was not stated in the reports we could read. Full story: Ewbank’s attic collection sets a UK record.

5. About $963,000 of PSA-graded cards stolen from a FedEx truck (October 13)

Status: open police case. Thieves took packages of PSA-graded sports and Pokémon cards from a FedEx truck near PSA’s Santa Ana, California office on Tuesday, October 13. Santa Ana police, as reported by CBS Los Angeles, put the estimated value at the time at $963,000, while noting the true figure could not be fixed until remaining boxes were scanned. NBC News reported after an update on October 20 that police had made no arrests and recovered nothing.

PSA says it has deactivated the certificate numbers of the stolen slabs and alerted marketplaces. Dexerto reported that PSA published a list of 6,451 stolen items and that the FBI is also investigating. For owners, the key detail came from Fortune: PSA is paying fair market value only up to the insured value each customer chose, and one collector it spoke to had insured every card at up to $1,500 and his order at up to $156,000. Full story: PSA-graded cards stolen from a FedEx truck; our PSA grading cost guide covers what you pay, and declare, when you submit.

6. Aquapolis Crystal Lugia PSA 10 ties its reported high (October 11 and 18)

Status: sold. A PSA 10 Crystal Lugia sold at Fanatics for $336,000 on October 11 and another for $360,000 on October 18, both with premium; a Buy Now copy went for $148,511 in late August. ComicBook.com said the $360,000 matched a high from earlier in October rather than beating it, and that PSA lists 138 in Gem Mint 10. Breakdown: Crystal Lugia and Legendary Collection prices.

7. Raincoat Pikachu: $8.4 million, then $1,037,000 (September 27 and October 11)

Status: sold, plus a live Goldin bid. The Art Academy promo drawn by Y. Fujishima sold in PSA 10 for $8,400,000 with premium at Fanatics on September 27, 2026, making it the second-priciest Pokémon card sale reported. A PSA 10 had sold on the same platform for $19,200 in June 2025. On October 11 a separate PSA 10 went for $1,037,000 at Goldin, per Sports Illustrated, and a third copy is in the Goldin auction at a $125,000 bid. Some outlets date the record to September 28; that is UTC, and Fanatics lists September 27. Analysis: Raincoat Pikachu and Mudkip price swings.

8. Two Mudkips sell for seven figures (September 20 and 25)

Status: sold, plus live Goldin bids. On September 20 Fanatics recorded $1,020,000 for a PSA 10 EX Team Rocket Returns Gold Star Mudkip, and five days later its Premier sold a PSA 10 Art Academy Mudkip by Daisuke Ochiai for $3,720,000, together $4.74 million (our sum). The Fanatics history shows the Gold Star at $20,400 in December 2024 and the Art Academy card at $42,000 in November 2024. Both cards are in Goldin’s auction too, bid at $205,000 and $243,000 on October 24. Their PSA 10 counts are very different and are covered in our Mudkip and Raincoat Pikachu report.

9. The rest of the six-figure sales

Status: sold, as reported by Sports Illustrated’s weekly countdowns. These figures come from SI; we have not matched each one to an auction-house page.

  • Garchomp LV.X PSA 10: $900,000, Fanatics Weekly, September 20.
  • Latias Gold Star CGC 10 Pristine: $456,000, Fanatics Premier, September 25.
  • Legendary Collection reverse holo Pikachu PSA 10: $780,000, Fanatics Weekly, September 27.
  • Neo Revelation 1st Edition Misdreavus PSA 10: $408,000, Fanatics Weekly, September 27.
  • Japanese Clash of the Blue Sky Rayquaza Gold Star BGS 10: $562,650 on eBay, October 2.
  • Plasma Storm Full Art Lugia EX PSA 10: $660,000, Fanatics Weekly, October 11.
  • Complete 19-card Legendary Collection holo set, every card PSA 10: $960,000, Fanatics Weekly, October 11.

Why do so many of these involve PSA 10s? Our explainer on why PSA 10 cards rise faster in hot markets covers that, and our population report guide shows how to check how many exist.

Two smaller items

Doug Ferguson collection at Landry Pop (auction November 3). ICv2 reported on October 21 that Landry Pop Auctions is selling items from the collection of Doug Ferguson, a former senior Pokémon product executive. The headline piece is a jumbo “Doug Ferguson GX” farewell card estimated at $30,000 to $50,000. Pre-bidding is open, and the auction is set for November 3, 2026.

PSA 9 Pikachu Illustrator at Heritage (background, mid-September). 24/7 Wall St, in a piece carried by Yahoo Finance, reported that a PSA 9 Illustrator sold for $5 million through Heritage. We could not read Heritage’s own lot page, so treat that as reported, not confirmed.

What to watch

  • Goldin, Sunday night October 25 into October 26. Final prices for the Trophy Pikachu, the Raincoat Pikachu and both Mudkips. Bids can rise sharply in the extended rounds.
  • Landry Pop, November 3. The Doug Ferguson GX jumbo card against its $30,000 to $50,000 estimate.
  • The FedEx theft. Any arrests, recovered slabs or a final loss figure from police or PSA.
  • Repeat sales. Whether the next Legendary Collection Charizard or Crystal Lugia lands above or below October’s prices.

Planning to sell into this market? Start with our guide to selling Pokémon cards and the PSA grading guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the biggest Pokemon card sale of October 2026 so far?

The 1st Edition Shadowless Charizard PSA 10 at $1,380,000 including premium, from the October 23 Fanatics Premier. The Trophy Pikachu at Goldin has a higher bid, but it is not a sale until the lot closes.

What time do Goldin’s 30th Anniversary lots close?

Extended bidding opens to everyone at 10 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, October 25, and lots then close in 30-minute rounds, so final results come late that night Eastern time or early on October 26 in UTC.

How much was stolen in the PSA FedEx truck theft?

Santa Ana police estimated $963,000 at the time, according to CBS Los Angeles, while saying the exact value was still being determined. Dexerto reported that PSA listed 6,451 stolen items.

What did the UK attic Pokemon collection sell for?

IBTimes UK reported a total of 1.56 million pounds, about $2.1 million, at Ewbank’s on October 21, with 41 of 42 sets sold.

Why did the Raincoat Pikachu sell for $8.4 million?

The card is a 2015 Art Academy contest promo, and that is where bidding on September 27 at Fanatics Collect ended; no public record explains why. Another PSA 10 sold for $1,037,000 two weeks later, so the $8.4 million is one result, not a set value.

Sources

Auction bids are not sales until a lot closes; any bid on this page is labelled with the time we read it. Sale prices are as reported by the auction house or outlet named, and say whether they include the buyer’s premium where the source does. This article is collector news, not investment advice. Pokémon and all card names are trademarks of Nintendo, Creatures Inc. and GAME FREAK inc.; Pokemon Pricing is not affiliated with them or with any grading company.

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