Posted in: Card Games, Comic Connect Sponsored, Games, Pokémon, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: auction, Charizard, PTCG

Original Japanese Pokémon Booster Box On Auction At Comics Connect

Published Sun, 13 Dec 2020 13:40:47 -0600

by Joshua Nelson

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Pokémon as a franchise has received major acclaim and success worldwide. The mega-popular franchise's video games and anime were a huge hit in the United States in particular. However, this brand's popularity would be nowhere near as huge as it is today without the help of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Players in the United States might vividly recall their first holofoil rare or their first starter set and that lovely Machamp card that came with it, or even the card game being their first exposure to the franchise at all. The phenomenon is still real today, with influencers like Arin Hanson and Logan Paul lending their efforts to a collectible market that otherwise would have gone the way of the Beanie Babies.

POKEMON 1995 JAPANESE BOOSTER BOX #0 published by Topsun, photo via Comic Connect.

Today, Comics Connect has a lovely auction up, and it's one that might make waves among fans of this franchise: an original Pokémon Trading Card Game Base Set booster box in Japanese is up for auction on the site for $23,500. This auction will be open until tomorrow, December 14th, at 7:52 Eastern Time, or 6:52 PM Central Time.

According to Vincent Zurzolo, co-founder and owner of Metropolis Collectibles,

Kids of the 60s and 70s grew up with Spider-Man. Kids of the 90s and 00s grew up with Pikachu. Pokémon is their jam. I believe this market is just beginning and there will be continued growth.

The Japanese box from '95 is so incredibly rare and interesting in that a box hasn't sold in quite some time so it is really hard to put a price on it. If the American box from 99 sells for $360k, then what should the original be worth…

It can be said that this booster box is very likely to fetch a huge sum of money. A few booster boxes in English have attained the sum at the auction of over $180,000, with one in particular managing to fetch $360,000. It remains to be seen whether the same will be said of this Japanese booster box, though, because the precedent has been set with English boxes alone so far. Various factors will determine this box's overall value to collectors, potentially including the language barrier (which may or may not diminish the sale) or the nostalgia factor (which would bolster it). Which aspects will win out? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

As stated above, this auction will end tomorrow, December 14th, at 7:52 PM Eastern Time, or 6:52 PM Central Time. You can click here to access the auction!