When it comes to the number of copies printed, the origins of the Illustrator remains a mystery. This Pokémon illustrator card is now officially the most expensive one in the world that was sold at an auction in New York last week. The Pokémon illustrator card was awarded to the winners of the 1998 CoroCoro illustration contest in Japan. The reverse of the card is adorned with the Japanese logo and name for the game.
Illustrator pokemon card series#
Fan-favorite Pikachu stars on the most valuable and rarest Pokémon card in the world! The artwork is by Atsuko Nishida and is the only card in the long-running collectible card game series to say “Illustrator” at the top of a Trainer Card, and the only one to bear the pen symbol in the bottom right corner.
The card’s auction description read: “Pokémon “Pikachu Illustrator” Trainer Promo Hologram Trading Card, 1998. The Pokémon card called Pikachu Illustrator card featuring an image of Pikachu holding a pen has just become the most expensive ever, selling for $233,000 at an auction. We do know of one more card that was sold for big bucks making it the most expensive card ever sold. Thirty-nine of these cards were awarded, but only ten apparently still exist. An extremely rare Pokemon trading card - the Pikachu Illustrator - was purchased for a record US54,970 at auction, organisers of the sale said Monday. Fans may know that the Pikachu Illustrator card was given out to winners of a comic contest that was held in Japan in 1997-98. The winners received 20 copies of their card with their illustration along with the Illustrator Pokémon card. The contest asked for fans to submit their own Pokémon card designs to the Japanese manga magazine, CoroCoro.
But looks like Pokémon fans just can’t get enough and the demand for the illustrator cards refuses to die down. In 1998, the Illustrator Pokémon card was given out to lucky winners of an art competition.
First the rare “ Pikachu Illustrator” card went under the hammer followed by the very sought-after Trainer card that was sold a few weeks ago for a little under a million. Is it OK to draw another Pokmon in addition to. It’s starting to look like the year of Pokémon cards. As an exception, those who have already worked as an Official Pokmon Trading Card Illustrator cannot apply.