The Logan Paul Pikachu Illustrator
Quick answer: Logan Paul's PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator sold at Goldin on February 16, 2026 for $16,492,000 including buyer's premium. The hammer price was $13.3 million. Paul had acquired the card in 2021 for $5,275,000, and the 2026 sale is the record for any trading card at auction.
The card
The Pikachu Illustrator is a 1998 Japanese promo that was only ever given away. CoroCoro Comic awarded 39 copies to the winners of an illustration contest. Atsuko Nishida, who first designed Pikachu, painted the artwork, and the card reads "Illustrator" where a normal card reads "Trainer". Collectors have called it the holy grail of the hobby for years.
2021: the deal
Paul's purchase was a private trade valued at $5,275,000: a PSA 9 Pikachu Illustrator plus about $4 million. Guinness World Records listed it as the most expensive Pokémon card sold privately. In 2022 he wore the slab on a chain as he walked out at WrestleMania 38, and the Illustrator became the most recognized Pokémon card in the world.
2026: the auction
- Total: $16,492,000 with buyer's premium
- Date: February 16, 2026
- Auction house: Goldin
- Grade: PSA 10 Gem Mint, the only Illustrator known at that grade
- Buyer: AJ Scaramucci, according to Guinness World Records
That is more than triple the 2021 price and the highest price for a trading card at any auction.
What makes it worth that much
It is the meeting point of three rare things: an original run of only 39, a direct connection to the artist who created Pikachu, and a PSA 10 that no other copy matches. At the very top of the market, buyers compete hardest for one-of-ones, and this is the most famous one in Pokémon. Compare it with the other record-holders in the most expensive Pokémon cards.
Can you buy a Pikachu Illustrator?
Copies in lower grades change hands privately or at the big auction houses a few times a year, usually for millions. For most of us, a modern Pikachu chase card is the realistic alternative: see our Pikachu Pokémon cards and PSA 10 Pokémon cards.
How much did Logan Paul pay for the card?
About $5,275,000 in 2021, made up of a PSA 9 Pikachu Illustrator and roughly $4 million.
How many Pikachu Illustrators exist?
39 were given out as contest prizes in 1998. Not every copy has been graded, and Paul's is the only known PSA 10.
