Pikachu Illustrator cards are among the rarest Pokemon cards ever made, with only 39 known to exist in total, but just a handful have changed hands privately in major deals over the years.
These special cards come from a 1998 Japanese illustration contest run by CoroCoro magazine. Winners got these unique Pikachu promos as prizes, making them ultra-exclusive from the start. Experts believe exactly 39 were produced and handed out, and that’s the number collectors still quote today[2][4][5].
Private sales mean deals done away from public auctions, like direct trades between big collectors or through private brokers. Not every one of those 39 has been sold that way, since many stay tucked away in collections. The most famous private change was in 2022, when YouTuber Logan Paul bought a perfect PSA 10 graded Pikachu Illustrator for over $5 million. That deal put the card’s value on the map and showed how private sales can hit huge numbers without fanfare[2][3][4].
Before that, a few others switched owners quietly. Reports point to at least two or three more high-profile private transfers in the early 2010s and late 2000s, often between Japanese collectors or at secret meets. One went for around $1.5 million in 2019 to a mystery buyer, and another PSA 9 version moved hands for about $900,000 in 2017. These numbers come from collector forums and grading logs, but exact counts are tough because private means no public records[2][4].
Why so few? Owners treat these like treasures. Out of 39, only about 12-15 have popped up in any sales, public or private, and most graded ones by PSA stay in vaults. Logan Paul’s card was one of just two PSA 10s known, making its private sale a once-in-a-lifetime event[2][3].
For price trackers, this scarcity drives wild values. A raw or lower-grade Pikachu Illustrator might still fetch $300,000 or more in private talks, but perfect ones are in a league of their own. If you’re hunting info on current prices, watch grading services and whisper networks among top collectors, as the next private flip could shake things up[1][5].
