The Pikachu Illustrator card is one of the rarest Pokemon cards ever made, with only about 39 known to exist in total. Out of those, just a handful have been stored long term in top condition, making them extra valuable for collectors.
This card comes from a 1998 Japanese illustration contest run by CoroCoro magazine. Winners got these special Pikachu promos as prizes. Experts believe exactly 39 were printed and handed out, based on contest records and tracking by grading companies like PSA. Not all have surfaced publicly, but around 13 to 20 have been graded over the years.
Long-term storage means cards kept in safe spots like sleeves, top loaders, or climate-controlled vaults since the late 1990s. These avoid wear from light, air, or handling. Only a few Pikachu Illustrators fit this description. For example, the famous PSA 10 owned by Logan Paul in 2022 sold for over 5 million dollars. It was stored perfectly for decades, staying pristine with sharp corners and no fading. Other high-grade ones, like additional PSA 10s or 9s, also come from owners who held them untouched for 25 years or more.
Why so few? Most winners were kids who played with or lost their cards. Some got damaged over time. The ones stored long term often belonged to careful collectors or families who knew their worth early on. Grading data shows just 3 to 5 in perfect PSA 10 condition, all from long-held collections. Lower grades exist from cards that surfaced later, but they sell for much less, sometimes under 1 million.
Prices reflect this scarcity. A long-term stored PSA 10 can hit 5 million or more at auction. Even PSA 9s from similar storage fetch hundreds of thousands. Recent sales of other Pikachu promos, like the 2024 Illustration Contest version, go for just 15 to 140 dollars in lower grades, showing how the original stands alone.
Trackers and Pokemon price sites watch every sale. If a new long-term stored Pikachu Illustrator pops up, it makes headlines and drives values higher. For now, collectors dream of finding one hidden in an old binder from Japan.
