The Pikachu Illustrator card was given out to winners of a comic contest that was held in Japan in 1997-98. Thirty-nine of these cards were awarded, but only ten still exist.
Back in 2013, the Pikachu Illustrator card went for $54,970. The total paid last fall was $224,500, which includes the listed sale price of $195,000, mentioned above, and buyer’s premium.
But in this month’s auction on ZenPlus, the PSA-graded mint-9-rated Pikachu Illustrator card sold for a whopping 25,000,000 yen ($233,578.75), according to the Japanese language press release.