Pokémon is having a moment. Again. Except this time it doesn't look much like nostalgia, it looks like a booming market. Values for vintage cards have been climbing steadily, collector interest is at a high, and what once sat forgotten in a bedroom drawer is quietly becoming one of the more talked-about areas in the world of collectables.

The cards driving that attention are ones many people already own. Base Set, Jungle, Fossil, Team Rocket, the early Wizards of the Coast sets that defined the game in its first years. Holographic rares, first edition prints, promotional cards from the early movies, the ones that felt special at the time and have only grown more so since. Not sealed, not graded, not stored in climate-controlled conditions. Just the cards pulled from packs a quarter of a century ago, kept in a binder or a box, and largely forgotten about until now.

We know this because we've been selling them and here are some of our recent results.

A collection of 1999 Wizards cards, including holo Charizard 4/102, first edition holo Machamp, Dark Flareon and Dark Vaporeon, plus a 1998 Electronic Pokédex and themed deck boxes, sold for £260. A single Charizard Base Set holographic, number 4/102, achieved £180 on its own. A larger collection of around 400 cards including first edition Dark Charizard, Dark Blastoise and Dark Gyarados holos, Japanese cards and a voice-actor signed First Movie comic realised £1,000.
A collection including two WB First Movie Black Star promo cards, two Ancient Mew holos, Gym Challenge and WOTC cards, and thirty-four Bandai Carddass cards with a prism Charizard sold for £300. A mixed English and French language collection of around 280 cards, thirteen English holos including Charizard and Mewtwo, four first edition French holos among roughly 200 French cards, achieved £360. A collection featuring a Base Set holo Charizard and two Ancient Mew 2000 promos sold for £650.

These are not outliers. They are a fairly consistent picture of what well-kept early Pokémon material achieves when it reaches the right audience. If you have cards from this era, loose in a folder, filed in a binder, tucked away in a deck box, now is a good time to find out what you may be sitting on.

Sell Your Collections

Which brings us to our next sale. We are now inviting entries for our forthcoming Sci-Fi & Fantasy Sale, a specialist auction celebrating the worlds of imagination, adventure and collectable culture. Alongside Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! and other trading card series, the sale will bring together toys, models and memorabilia from Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Marvel, DC, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and beyond, with vintage action figures, model kits, limited-edition statues, prop replicas and signed memorabilia all welcome.

Whether you have a single card or a full collection, our specialists are happy to advise on suitability and value.

Last day for entries: Thursday 25 June.

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