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How much are your old Pokémon trading cards worth? Values could increase in 2024

Camille Fine, USA TODAY
Updated ·2-min read
The Pikachu Illustrator is one of the most iconic high-end Pokémon cards there is, according to the digital card trading company Collectors. Logan Paul owns the only PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator in the world (the one he wore around his neck at Wrestlemania earlier in 2023). The photo is a PSA 8.5 copy PSA graded earlier in 2023.
The Pikachu Illustrator is one of the most iconic high-end Pokémon cards there is, according to the digital card trading company Collectors. Logan Paul owns the only PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator in the world (the one he wore around his neck at Wrestlemania earlier in 2023). The photo is a PSA 8.5 copy PSA graded earlier in 2023.

It takes about 25 years for something to really start to feel nostalgic, and Pokémon cards will soon be a hot new item for vintage collectors, according to some experts.

Collectors, a portfolio of companies that allows people to find, buy, authenticate, track and research “any type of collectible” online – including sports cards, coins and video games – is betting on Pokémon cards’ value to boost significantly in 2024.

While 2021 technically marked the 25-year milestone for the Pokémon franchise's 1996 launch in Japan, the “Base Set” launch in the United States in 1999 is “widely attributed as the key start of the global Pokémon craze,” according to a spokesperson from Collectors.

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Collectors told USA TODAY that its prediction for Pokémon cards is backed by years of data. The company said it has “consistently seen a spike in demand after 25 years across sports cards and all categories of collectibles” because an item typically reaches its “full nostalgia factor."

Logan Paul sports Pikachu

Logan Paul (left) and The Miz enter the arena during WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on April 2, 2022. Paul is wearing a Pikachu card worth more than $5 million as a necklace.
Logan Paul (left) and The Miz enter the arena during WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on April 2, 2022. Paul is wearing a Pikachu card worth more than $5 million as a necklace.

Just last year, YouTuber Logan Paul made headlines for wearing a Pikachu card as a necklace during WrestleMania. After Paul’s win in the ring, the Guinness Book of World Records was there to award him a plaque for purchasing the “most expensive Pokémon trading card sold at a private sale” at a listed price of $5,275,000.

“For people who grew up collecting TCG cards like Pokémon, that moment is occurring right now, and an important driver for being able to act on that nostalgia is having disposable income, which also happens when you’re in your 30s and 40s,” said Collectors CEO Nat Turner. “The other thing that happens in your 30s and 40s is having kids, which also triggers the nostalgia receptor.”

When trading cards reach their “vintage age” (around the 25-year-mark), Turner said it sees a surge of demand for authenticated and graded copies of these items, and the scarcity of the perfect and near-perfect cards helps drive the value of the market.

More: A rare Italian vase bought at Goodwill for $3.99 was just sold for over $100,000

The top 10 Pokémon cards graded in 2023

  • 2022 Pokémon Japanese Sv Promo 001 Pikachu Scarlet & Violet Pre-Order

  • 2022 Pokémon Japanese Sword & Shield Incandescent Arcana 074 Full Art/Altaria

  • 2022 Pokémon Japanese Sword & Shield Vstar Universe 246 Full Art/Elesa's Sparkle

  • 2022 Pokémon Japanese Sword & Shield Vstar Universe 212 Full A Rt/Charizard Vstar

  • 2023 Pokémon Japanese Sv1a-Triplet Beat 080 Magikarp Art Rare

  • 2022 Pokémon Swsh Black Star Promo 262 Full Art/Charizard Vstar Sword & Shield Ultra-Premium Collection-Charizard

  • 2022 Pokémon Japanese Sword & Shield Incandescent Arcana 069 Full Art/Braixen

  • 2023 Pokémon Japanese Sv1v-Violet Ex 100 Miriam Super Rare

  • 2022 Pokémon Swsh Black Star Promo 261 Full Art/Charizard Vmax Sword & Shield Ultra-Premium Collection-Charizard

  • 2022 Pokémon Japanese Sword & Shield Vstar Universe 221 Full Art/Mewtwo Vstar

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How much are vintage Pokémon trading cards worth? Value may be rising.