Home › Guide

Most expensive Pokémon cards: record and prices in euros

Updated October 17, 2026 · Cardaly

“The most expensive Pokémon card” can mean two very different things: the all-time record, an extremely rare card auctioned for millions of dollars, and the most expensive cards you can actually buy. This page covers both: the record, with its source, and the current ranking at Cardmarket prices. Cardmarket is the main card marketplace in Europe, so these prices are in euros.

World record$16.49M

CardPikachu Illustrator

Most expensive we track€55,000

Prices checkedOctober 26 – November 8, 2026

The world record: the Pikachu Illustrator

Pikachu Illustrator PSA 10 — The auctioned copy in its slab. Photo: Goldin Auctions, published by Guinness World Records.

On February 16, 2026, a Pikachu Illustrator graded PSA 10 sold at a Goldin auction for $16,492,000, buyer's premium included. Guinness World Records verified it as the most expensive Pokémon card, and the most expensive trading card overall, ever sold at auction.

Why that price? The card was never sold in packs: in 1998 it was only given as a prize in an illustration contest. Logan Paul, quoted by Guinness World Records, says 39 copies were handed out to the winners and that this one is the only copy graded PSA 10. He had bought it in 2021 for $5,275,000, then a record for a private sale. The artwork is by Atsuko Nishida, credited as the original creator of Pikachu.

What this record does not tell you

Nothing about the value of an ordinary Pikachu card: it is the price of a one-off object, not a market price. Day to day, a card is worth what its real sales and listings say.

The most expensive Pokémon cards right now

Ranking of the Pokémon cards Cardaly tracks, at the Cardmarket reference price shown on their card page. These are cards listed for sale on Cardmarket, not auction pieces. Prices checked: October 26 – November 8, 2026. Each card page shows the date of its last check; a price checked more than 14 days ago drops out of the ranking.

Read with care: the rarest vintage cards often have few listings, and a single listing can move their price a lot from one day to the next.

Cardmarket prices as shown on each card page: the cheapest Near Mint listing for the English version when there is one, otherwise for another language. An isolated listing (more than five times the cheapest one in other languages) or a high price that no other language confirms is left out: it is not a market price. Prices are in euros as listed on Cardmarket; US marketplaces can show different prices. The ranking recalculates itself and may have changed since your last visit.

Why are they worth so much?

Rarity: “star” cards (★) from the EX era and recent special illustrations, often numbered beyond their set's main list.
Age and print run: a card printed in small numbers twenty years ago, and kept in good condition even more rarely, keeps getting scarcer.
The Pokémon: at the same rarity, a Charizard, a Pikachu or a Gengar sells for much more than a less popular Pokémon.
The set: a sought-after set that sells out quickly lifts all its chase cards.
Condition: these prices are for near-new cards. A damaged card is worth a fraction.

The most expensive, Pokémon by Pokémon

Every card of a Pokémon, sorted by price: Charizard · Pikachu · Mewtwo · Mew · Umbreon · Rayquaza · Lugia · Gengar · Eevee · Gardevoir. And every Pokémon.

The most valuable cards of each set

For every set, its most expensive cards at Cardmarket prices, with the full card list and the date prices were checked: all sets.

What about your own card? Look it up in the card price pages, or browse the most valuable cards of each set.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most expensive Pokémon card ever sold?

The PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator, auctioned by Goldin for $16,492,000 on February 16, 2026, buyer's premium included: a record verified by Guinness World Records.

What is the most expensive Pokémon card right now?

Among the cards Cardaly tracks, it is Rayquaza ★ 107/107 (Deoxys), listed at €55,000 on Cardmarket (checked on November 2, 2026). The full ranking is on this page.

How many Pikachu Illustrator cards exist?

According to Logan Paul, quoted by Guinness World Records, 39 were given to the winners of an illustration contest in 1998. The copy auctioned in 2026 is described as the only one graded PSA 10.

Why are these prices in euros?

Cardaly reads its prices from Cardmarket, the main trading card marketplace in Europe, where cards are listed in euros. Prices on US marketplaces can differ.

Is a graded card worth more?

Often, when the grade is very high and the card is in demand. But grading has a cost: it only pays off for cards that justify it.

Sources : Record and photo: Guinness World Records, February 16, 2026, image credit Goldin Auctions. Market prices: Cardaly's pricing methodology (in French). Sources checked on October 17, 2026.