The Dec. 12–13 auction topped Heritage’s 2021 benchmark as multiple trophy and event Pokémon lots joined the six-figure tier.
By Intelligent Collector Staff | December 16, 2025
The trading card games market has spent the last few years recalibrating after the Covid-era surge, with collectors watching to see which segments would prove durable at the highest levels. Heritage Auctions’ Dec. 12–13 Trading Card Games Signature® Auction offered a clear signal: top-grade Pokémon and true trophy material continue to command premium prices, and the bidding depth appears to extend well beyond a single headline lot.
The auction was led by a top-condition copy of Pokémon Charizard 4 1st Edition Base Set, PSA Gem Mint 10 (Wizards of the Coast, 1999), which realized $550,000 with buyer’s premium. Heritage said the result surpassed the prior public-auction record for the card set during the pandemic era. The press release also noted population scarcity at the top: the copy sold is among 125 examples certified as PSA 10.
While Charizard drew the spotlight, the broader performance of the auction is what makes the result more meaningful for market watchers. Heritage reported an event total of $5,279,820, describing it as the all-time high total for a trading card games auction and noting it exceeded the previous record of $4.01 million set by Heritage in 2021. In a category where totals can be skewed by one trophy card, the size of the overall result suggests strong demand across multiple tiers of rarity.
Heritage highlighted several additional six-figure outcomes tied to event and trophy material. A 1998 Gold No. 1 Trainer sold for $450,000, and a Pokémon VS Tropical Mega Battle Complete English Deck realized $275,000. The press release also pointed to language scarcity as a driver: a single French-language Tropical Mega Battle deck brought $175,000. Other high points included a CGC Mint 9 Pikachu Illustrator Unnumbered Promo at $325,000 and a Pokémon Unlimited Base Set uncut sheet at $106,250.
The pattern across these results is consistent: collectors are concentrating capital in the hardest-to-replace material — top-grade examples, trophy cards with limited census presence, and event-related items with clear historical context — rather than treating the market as a broad, uniform rise.
Source: Heritage Auctions press release (December 16, 2025).