So what is the cost of owning this home where you are taking out a 470k loan in the UK - I don’t know the RE market in the UK? What’s your interest, property tax, insurance cost, etc.? Your actual “income” on the home is gonna be lower than you think, despite your initial investment of only 33k on each property. Based on my local US numbers, I’d have to pay out of pocket each month to keep this home. The rent helps to reduce the cost a bit. Also, you don’t have 1.5mil just because you now can use the home. The bank owns the home till you make full payment on the homes in what 30 years?
Who has the PSA10 illustrator? Is it smpratte?
Thats a great overview thanks!
Can someone educate me why Illustrator is most iconic/expensive and on top of the list and not the earlier trophies?
I would say they are rarer and older compared to the Illustrator (and also feature a Pikachu fatboy!) and would therefore be more valuable.
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Great question… i have been collecting for 15 years and still don‘t know the answer to your question 
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There was an initial misconception that it was the rarest card, with only 6 copies. Now the estimate is up to 39 copies exist. The organic chase for the card has clearly been maintained even though it may have initially stemmed from a slightly inaccurate estimation of rarity.
It was interesting to see that the Illustrator that sold for $195k was still advertised as the rarest pokemon card, which is simply false.
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In short, singularity. Look at the trophy kangaskhan. It outsells some rarer cards because of the singularity. It’s one single card, rather than a set or multiple. Add unique art + extreme rarity = high octane collectible.
The illustrator is that maxed out:
- God tier rarity
- Exclusive Art
- Singular Card
- First illustration contest
- Art represents the purpose of release
- Only card you feature “illustrator”
- Exclusive pen logo
And perhaps most important, inertia. Similar to asking why charizard is the most popular, inertia.
People can bargain as much as they want with reality, they will always lose. The card has always been the most valuable.
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I think TandSTradingcards question is rather why has the Illustrator been selling higher than the No. 1,2,3 Trainer SSB, TMB, Pika. Or in other words why are those cards selling lower than the Illustrator.
It‘s a really good question… Surely a small pen logo is not enough to justify the price difference.
To be clear, not trying to take anything away from the Illustrator, rather it seems like the TMB, SSB and pikas should be selling for much higher (similar or higher than the illustrator)
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My theory has been the trilogy of cards hurts their individual values. It makes them viewed as a set, as opposed to a stand alone card.
The answer may be revealed to us if the Illustrator had a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place Illustrator release.
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Possibly some people just want one of the TMB or SSB and don‘t mind which place. But even then the number of total copies is lower at 27 total
If I had one I think I’m ocd enough to want the whole set to have a feeling of completion.
So that could definitely deter some people although it does add another layer to the story of the card.
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Simple, it’s the god card. I remember back in grade school in 1999-2000 reading Beckett Magazine every month and being a fanatic, the illustrator even then was a god card that a lot of people knew about, a lot of ads and articles about its rarity. Never even heard of these other trophy cards until I was back in the hobby almost 15 years later.
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Never downplay inertia in collectibles. When a collectible picks up momentum from the start of the hobby, it’s pretty much way ahead of the others when they start picking up steam. The best example is the T206 Honus Wagner. There’s so many more items rarer and more unique than it, but right out the gate, it already had people talking about it. The illustrator had a $23k sale in 2000 and it was higher than any Pokémon card right out the gate. Since then, it was just a lot of buzz and talk about it whenever one appears for sale.
Sometimes rarity plays a negative role in an items value as sheer rarity would mean less transactions and hence, less publicity and talk amongst collectors.
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@handschoen, @pokeg, That is what I tried to address in the post. Rarity is one variable, but not all encompassing. There are plenty of modern sports 1 of 1 cards that are completely worthless.
While I love the other trophy cards, the singularity and uniqueness of the illustrator is why its the most valuable. Ie. buying one single card vs a set, or multiple cards.
I think that is a really good point
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@chok, Well said!
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That makes sense as well as the inertia factor (the one that started it all).
A bit of a paradox that the inertia started after it was deemed the rarest. But now more appeared the scarcity of the most rare cards maybe makes them less known.
Love the card, great that is sold for such an amazing prize. All these comments made a lot more things clear to me, thanks a lot.
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No one knows who has the PSA 10 illustrator???
I noticed you didn’t get an answer. How about, “Who has the graded Illustrators?”
I think there’s some embarrassment involved cause so many sadly sold theirs for less than 200k. Believe me, I can totally understand it. I wish I could go back;)
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It is an interesting thought experiment, the Illustrator is a unique card but if from day one everyone knew the exact initial quantities of all the trophy/prize cards I have a hard time believing it would be #1. As late as 2014 the consensus was no more than 20 and yes in the early Pokegym era it was always quoted as the rarest etc.
In saying that though it is sort of a cool history and even though it isn’t the ‘rarest’ it helped kindle the early flame for Pokemon and brought people from the sidelines to get involved with collecting again.
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