Trading cards of this high-flying, fire-breathing Pokémon is soaring to new price points.
A rare, first edition, holographic Charizard card from the 1999 Pokémon Base Set has just sold for $420,000 at auction — an all-time record for a base-set card of its kind, according to PWCC Marketplace, which recently sold the card during its March Premier Auction.
“This historic piece of art designed by celebrated artist Mitsuhiro Arita is easily the most recognizable Pokémon card ever made,” the collector card-trading platform wrote of the lauded Japanese illustrator.
On a zero to 10 scale, the card boasts a perfect, mint condition rating, and out of the 3,000 copies of this card, only 121 hold up to that score, PWCC noted in the item description on their website.
“Pokémon is the world’s leading media brand and Charizard is the GOAT of that brand. It’s an asset that Pokémon and non-Pokémon collectors know of and want to own,” Jesse Craig, director of business development for PWCC, told CNN in a statement.
“This is a card where demand continues to outweigh supply,” Craig added.
The card has drawn increasingly competitive bids in recent years, including one sold for $336,000 earlier this month. In late 2020, a Charizard card of a similar variety sold for a total of $360,000, including a buyer’s premium.
Its hype was likely amplified earlier that year by retired rapper Logic, who notoriously laid down over $220,000 for another first edition Charizard card, while YouTuber and wannabe MMA fighter Logan Paul also reportedly shelled out $216,000 for a box of Pokémon Base Set cards.
And one of the highest-selling Charizard cards went last year for over $490,000.