A retired decorator has become a millionaire after auctioning off a collection of Pokémon cards. As he writes BBCthe man, originally from Woking, said he had no idea of the value of those cards until he read in his local newspaper about a single card selling for more than £6,000. So he decided to turn to an auction house.
The collection
His collection remained in the attic for 15 years and was sold at auction by Ewbank’s for 1.56 million pounds, approximately 1.8 million euros.
“I know they always talk about finding treasure in the attic, but in my case it’s literally true,” said the man, who asked to remain anonymous. “When my son was little, in the late 1990s, he started collecting trading cards and trading them at school,” she said. “I thought they looked good and wondered if they might be a good investment,” he explained.
Over the years, some sets purchased on eBay have been added to this collection. One of those sets, which had cost him £300 at the time, was auctioned for £75,000. The most prized lot was the full Legendary Collection set, which included a Charizard card in near-mint condition. The card had been valued at between £15,000 and £20,000 but sold for £100,000.