How valuable/scarce is too valuable/scarce?
2 Likes
Imo the significance of the card should never be greater than the significance of the signer
8 Likes
Just to add to the discussion:
Pokemon is a bit unique in this sector I think in that many collectors would prefer an unsigned grail over a signed one.
3 Likes
Itās not a science, I couldnāt give you numbers! This is all opinion which I recognise is likely partly formed by emotion.
2 Likes
I would also like to see a public auction dictate demand.
I do have to say, Rush signed it. That has some relevance.
3 Likes
Now that it really happened at Haiwaii Popcon:
https://efour.b-cdn.net/uploads/default/optimized/3X/7/4/74be471801a992f5d4ab0b44b5ff26589ff7b3ff_2_969x727.jpeg
I was thinking about my feelings about it for a while and want to share it with you. My most dominant thought that you somehow downgrade a card of this rarity by something that can be aquired by anyone with a signing spot. Putting aside the intense process of
1st getting a Pika Trophy (which is impossible for 99% of us)
2nd deciding not to grade it but to carry it with you
3rd riscing it to be damaged or something else during the signing process
but me personally I really would not do it. Sugimori would be a different topic for me. This would be putting a Trophy Autograph on a Trophy Card but an Arita Signature feels like adding a Non-Holo-Rare Autograph to a Trophy Card
Curious about your thoughts on it
Cheers, Martin
3 Likes
For the same price, I would prefer the copy without signature. Too distracting.
9 Likes
Iām sure it will be for sale eventually, so we can see how the market reacts. I think overall most people just want the card. Also, since itās so rare, Iām not sure how much value an auto would add, especially from the most frequent signer.
Something like a Sugimori trophy kangaskhan would be more in the sweet spot. A very rare and popular card, but not as rare. More importantly, a Sugimori auto would have more impact.
11 Likes
Very cool to see this become a reality! I think the card looks awesome with the auto on it. Itās super unique and I am sure the person who got it enjoys it a lot. Assuming it wasnāt signed to be flipped, the opinion of the person who got it for their collection is the only thing that matters.
However, if it was designed as a moneymaking venture, Iām not sure how successful it will be. As others have pointed out, Arita autographs are the most accessible of any artist. I donāt know if I would call it a downgrade from a raw card, but someone with the resources to get a Pika trophy absolutely has the resources to get one signed if they so choose.
6 Likes
I would not want a trophy card signed.
5 Likes
I saw that in discord and thought it wasnāt the right move (unless he decided that this card will be forever with him). Maybe in 10+ years if Arita retires from signing events and becomes recluse, I can see how it would be even more special than it it is now.
For right now however, Arita signs almost every couple months it seems and this is a huge piece of Pokemon history that will forever be altered/not original.
1 Like
i am so far removed from being in this position in so many ways, so iāll just say, iām happy for the person who can have this in their collection and finds joy in it.
2 Likes
Iāll start with the necessary disclaimer that itās not my card, people can do whatever they want with their cards. Iām not going to stand in the way or say someone is doing something wrong. That being said I do have an opinion on the topic.
My grand theory of this hobby is that people primarily seek to āgrail-ifyā everything. We generally collect cards that are mass-produced so in order to justify the value of items, we come up with ways explain why our items are better than all other other near-identical items out there.
If you look around itās evident everywhere. The ābetter than gem mintā grades are valuable because of grailification, not because of any meaningful difference in condition. Errors and miscuts are valued because of grailification - itās why people care about a red dot on a Blastoise or why a beginner person will by default assume any error equates to value. Itās why swirls, which started off as a novelty/joke, became a serious thing.
This grailification is especially noticeable in the autograph collectors. All autos are 1-of-1 so itās never enough to just have an autograph, you need to grailify it somehow. You need the rarest, most valuable card the artist has done. You need the jumbo/energy/blank card so itās a bigger sketch than everyone else. You need to be intentionally different than everyone else to the point of absurdity. Basically if you want an example of what I am talking about, just look here Pokemon Cringe - #5 by pfm
I think a signed trophy card is just another example of the most common impulse in this hobby just with another zero on the dollar value. Itās the āhow can I make this item more of a grailā. I think for a lot of people, they see a signature as additive or multiplicative of value regardless of the card. I donāt personally agree with this.
To inject some nuance, I donāt think grailification is only a bad thing. I think there are healthy ways to engage with the idea. Buying a card in a better condition makes sense, if the difference in condition is meaningful to you. Error cards and autographs are actually cool. I think really the important thing is in understanding where the value is derived from - internally or externally. If you do something because you find it cool, thatās fantastic. If you do something because you are seeking the external validation of your peers in the hobbyā¦ it isnāt necessarily a bad thing but I really think itās deserving of some self-reflection. āWould I care about this thing if I couldnāt share it online?ā - a good question to be asking.
And I guess ultimately my opinion on a signed trophy is based on all this. If itās intrinsically motivated, Iām very happy for the person. If itās extrinsically motivated, I guess itās fair game to judge it however you want to.
25 Likes
Just be warned if you say this auto adds no value to the card, I will be letting Frosted Caribou know about your slander.
8 Likes
I actually think the auto on this looks awesome. I wouldnāt have done it personally but I dig it.
1 Like
I initially liked this because when I first saw it from some awkward angle I thought it looked goodā¦ but I just got a proper look and, imo, all the text makes it hard to appreciate the signature and sketch.
Happy for the owner though, someone said theyāve wanted it for a while
3 Likes
To try to put this in the least grim way possible, generally autographs become most valuable after the supply of said autographs can no longer increase.
I also think a dated autograph, whether addressed or not, may have more value if it was signed at a significant time. Iād rather have a card that was dated and signed at e.g. tropical mega battle than in 2024. Who knows how the significance of dates may change to potential buyers in the future though. This is another way that the āsupplyā of a specific signature is limited and may go to a cardās āgrailificationā as pfm puts it.
I also think an autograph that isnāt addressed āTo:ā someone will probably be a lot more marketable/have more value than an addressed autograph - as these ones are. Even the generically addressed autographs (to Trainer, to Pikachu) I would value less.
Last point is that I think the language of the signature also probably has an impact on value. There are many Artia autos out there addressed in katakana (or Kanji like these ones) without people knowing what they even say. I personally would find a āto Jimboā auto on my card to detract from it. If you canāt actually read the Japanese I guess it doesnāt really matter much until someone tells you what it says.
I asked a seller once if he was the Gabriel referred to in a āTo Gabrielā Arita auto and he said he didnāt even know it said that and had assumed the writing was just all part of the autograph. 
7 Likes
The owner of that card was a few people in front of me on Saturday at this past weekendās event and he sure looked happy to get it.
Like what others mentioned, it is ultimately up to the owner and they are free to do whatever they like with their items. While some might not agree with the decision, others may agree, and Iām sure the owner honestly probably doesnāt really care what others think 
.
But we will now know if this ever gets resold in the future.
Oh and I believe this was one of the CGC graded trophy Pikas.
1 Like
i personally would not have this done, because i cannot afford a trophy card
This is a very good point I frankly had not considered before. Iām not much of an autograph collector myself. As you mentioned, the PokĆ©mon itself and culture around it is GOAT, but I only started learning a little about the illustrators yearssss into the hobby. This was when I finally started attending some events, and I actually had an opportunity to get my own cards signed. And Iām sure itās the same for many others.
It would be interesting to see some niche cards sell where real people are featured that also sign the card. The only example that come to mind was a signed M Sachiko ex signed by Sachiko herself? 
but then again, Iām sure many of us donāt know much about Sachiko either.