A rare PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator card sold for $16,492,000 to venture capitalist AJ Scaramucci, setting a new record for the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction.
The card, personally owned by Logan Paul, headlined Goldin’s Pokémon and trading card game auction and closed after sustained international bidding through early Monday morning, Feb. 16. Guinness World Records certified the result as a world record for a trading card sold at auction.
Graded a perfect 10 by Professional Sports Authenticator, the Pikachu Illustrator is the only example to receive the top mark from the grading service, making it one of the rarest and most coveted cards in the hobby. The card was featured throughout season three of the “King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch.”
Scaramucci, founder and managing partner of Solari Capital, was present at Goldin’s headquarters during the auction. Scaramucci is also the son of financier and former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, who lives in Manhasset and grew up in Port Washington. Paul had initially agreed to hand-deliver the card to the winning bidder, but Scaramucci surprised attendees by revealing he was already in the room, allowing the transfer to take place immediately after the sale concluded.
“This is an historic night for not only the Pokémon community, it is an historic night for the entire collectible community,” Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin, said in a statement. “We just keep showing there are no barriers. These key things that we all love and appreciate keep going up, keep setting records, and keep bringing people together.”
Paul called the sale a milestone for collectors.
“This right here is what makes collecting so special — this hobby is unbelievably fun,” he said. “I love the community aspect of it, getting to meet other collectors and connect over our shared passion. It has been amazing working on this with my friend Ken Goldin, who has changed Pokémon forever in such a great way.”
Leading up to the auction’s close, Goldin and Paul hosted a first-edition Pokémon box break livestream on Paul’s YouTube channel. A Guinness World Records representative attended the event, along with multiple winners of a previous Goldin weekly trading card game auction. The break yielded several rare cards, including Mewtwo, Chansey and Blastoise.
