Honestly, a good 90% of my daydreams involve pulling an old bit of tat out of my loft that ends up being worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. My wife and I cry in amazement as someone orders our junk on Amazon for an indecent amount of money, and then we proceed to buy a boat and sail to Disney World. That's the dream, anyway.
Real life is less enjoyable, and the tat in my loft is just that. But every now and again, I have a little flick through my old Pokémon card collection, just to make sure I'm not sat on a ridiculous treasure. A treasure like the ultra-rare Pikachu Illustrator card, which just sold for an eye-watering £183,300 on ZenPlus (thanks, Kotaku).
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To be fair, it's entirely unlikely that you or have this card tucked away down the back of the sofa. The Pikachu Illustrator is one of the rarest Pokémon cards out there. It was given out exclusively to winners of a comic contest in Japan way back in 1997. 39 of these cards were awarded at the time, but there are only ten currently in circulation.
That, obviously, makes it quite the coveted piece for collectors, and it's only increased in value over the years. Back in 2013, the card sold for an impressive £40,000. Last year, it was listed at £150,000 and sold for £176,000. I shudder to think how much more valuable such a gem might be in a few years' time.
In other ridiculously expensive Pokémon card-related news, one incredibly lucky sod recently discovered that a set of his old cards is now worth over £35,000. 34-year-old Nigel Brookes from Sutton Coldfield was given the full set of original cards by his mum back in 1999. Despite not being the biggest fan of the franchise, he kept hold of them.
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I'd imagine that he's bloody glad he did at this point, given that the set has appreciated in value from £300 to £35,000. The cards are set to go up for auction later this month, and Brookes hopes to be able to use the money he makes from the sale to really set himself, his wife, and his three kids up for the future.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to my loft tat daydream until it turns out I've actually got an old coin that's worth £500,000 or something.
Featured Image Credit: Nintendo/The Pokemon Company