The Pikachu Illustrator card is one of the rarest Pokemon cards ever made. It comes from a 1998 illustration contest in Japan where kids drew their favorite Pokemon. The top 39 winners got these special promo cards as prizes. That means only 39 Pikachu Illustrator cards exist in total.[2][4]
Raw means ungraded and unauthenticated. These are cards straight from the original owners with no grading company like PSA checking them. Unauthenticated raw Pikachu Illustrators are the toughest to track because many stay hidden in private collections. Experts believe only 13 to maybe 100 total Pikachu Illustrators still exist today. Some got lost, damaged, or thrown away over the years. Out of those, just a handful have shown up in public sales or auctions.[2]
No one knows the exact number of raw unauthenticated ones right now. Most known copies have been graded by PSA or similar services. For example, Logan Paul bought a PSA 10 graded version for over 5 million dollars in 2022. That card was pristine and authenticated. Other high-grade ones have sold for huge amounts too. But raw ones pop up less often. They sell for less than graded ones because buyers worry about condition without proof. Still, a raw Pikachu Illustrator can fetch thousands if it looks good.[3][4]
Pokemon collectors hunt these cards like treasure. Prices swing based on sales history. Recent promo Pikachu cards like the 2024 Illustration Contest version sell raw for 12 to 20 dollars. But the original 1998 Pikachu Illustrator is a different beast. Its raw supply stays super low because owners grade them fast or keep them safe.[1]
If you find a raw Pikachu Illustrator, get it checked quick. Authentication boosts value big time. Check sites like PriceCharting or auction records to see what similar cards sell for. Rarity drives the price, and with so few raw ones out there, each one that surfaces makes waves in the Pokemon card world.[1][2]
