The most coveted card in Pokémon history just became the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction.
Logan Paul's legendary Pikachu Illustrator sold for $16,492,000 USD at Goldin Auctions early Monday morning more than three times the $5.275 million Paul paid for it in 2021, and enough to obliterate the previous record held by a 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card.
The card's pedigree is unmatched. One of only 39 copies distributed as prizes in a 1998 CoroCoro Comic illustration contest, Paul's specimen stands alone as the only one in existence to receive a perfect PSA Gem Mint 10 grade. Featuring original Pikachu designer Atsuko Nishida's artwork and its distinctive "Illustrator" header and pen icon, it has long been considered the holy grail of the hobby.
Paul turned the card into a cultural artifact well before the auction. He wore it on a custom diamond chain valued at roughly $80,000 to his WWE debut at WrestleMania 38, transforming a collector's prize into a pop-culture statement. That chain was included in the lot.
Bidding was fierce, with the hammer falling at $13.3 million before the buyer's premium pushed the final total to $16,492,000. The winning bidder, A.J. Scaramucci son of financier Anthony Scaramucci received the card in a publicized handover directly from Paul. A Guinness World Records representative present at the livestream officially confirmed the new title: the most expensive Pokémon card and the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction.
The sale signals a new ceiling for high-end collectibles, and a landmark moment for alternative assets.
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