Thanks to finds like rare comic or forgotten first editions of Harry Potter that end up going for wild amounts of money at auction, those boxes collecting dust in cast off corners of the attic have become the source of treasure dreams for collectors and now for one man, the discovery of a forgotten Pokémon card collection has made that dream a reality. Over in the UK, one man has become a millionaire after selling a collection of cards purchased in the late 1990s that had sat untouched for 15 years.
According to the BBC (via Dexerto), a retired decorator from Woking, Surrey had originally purchased the card collection when his son became interested in the trading card game. However, after the son lost interest, the cards were put in custom binders and stored away.
“When my son was young, in the late 1990s, he started getting cards and swapping them at school,” the man explained. “I thought they looked nice and wondered whether they might be a good investment. He had his own cards, but he never got to touch these, I’m glad to say.”
The collection, which featured numerous rare cards including a Legendary Collection Complete Master Set featuring a near-mint Charizard card, sold for approximately $1.17 million total.
“I know people always talk about finding treasure int he attic, but in my case, that is literally trough,” he said.”
What makes this one man’s epic attic find particularly exciting is that it might not necessarily be a one-off. Unlike rare comics or forgotten first editions of Harry Potter which largely have very limited numbers as they are specifically tied to the time when they were released (and, thus, are much more rare), Pokémon card collecting could be a situation where future attic finds are just as lucrative as what this one man has experienced. Pokémon remains wildly popular, even with the TCG’s 30th anniversary release. More people than ever are collecting and, given the longevity of the game, that means there are more cards out there — and cards that are being carefully preserved as Pokemania continues.
Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean that some collectors will have to wait decades to find gold in their attics. Each week we see more and more highly sought after and valuable cards hit auction and sell for significant sums of money. Recently, three spectacular PSA 10 reverse holo cards from the 2002 Legendary Collection pulled in nearly $1.4 million at auction. And sales like this aren’t exactly outliers. A PSA 10 Gem Mint Crystal Lugia from 2003’s Aquapolis recently sold at auction for $360,000. With prices like this, one can probably safely assume that Pokémon is going to continue to be very popular for some time to come — and that there will be more interesting attic finds that turn to treasure for collectors.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
