Retired decorator becomes millionaire selling Pokémon cards

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 12:02 · Archive

A retired decorator sold a collection of Pokémon cards kept in his attic for £1.56 million at auction.

A retired decorator sold a Pokémon card collection kept in his attic for £1.56 million at auction through Ewbank's in Guildford, Surrey. The man, who remains anonymous, had no idea of the collection's value until he read about a single Pokémon card selling for over £6,000. He then decided to have his collection assessed.

Auctioneers initially estimated the cards could be worth upward of £270,000, but the collection far exceeded this guide price. The seller had 42 complete sets in mint condition, of which 41 were sold; he kept one. YouTubers, collectors and investors bid aggressively, with some lots reaching £100,000. The day before the sale, the auction house already had £825,000 in commission bids.

James Spooner, head of trading cards at Ewbank's, said: 'When we saw what he had – all in mint condition – we couldn't believe it, or the fact that he had no idea what they were worth.' The top lot was the Legendary Collection Complete Master Set, which featured all 110 cards, 110 Reverse Holo 'Firework' cards and four Box Toppers. The sale proved to be Ewbank's most successful in over 30 years of business.

How it is being reported

• Retired decorator becomes millionaire overnight as Pokémon cards he kept in his attic sell for £1.56MILLIONThe man, who wishes to remain anonymous, had the collection of cards sitting at home for 15 years - with no idea of their astonishing value.Daily Mail · 22 Oct, 11:36
• Decorator becomes overnight millionaire after selling old Pokémon cards collection for £1.6mThe Pokemon card collection was initially valued at £270,000, but was ultimately sold for more than five times the amount when YouTubers, collectors and investors started biddingThe Mirror · 22 Oct, 11:10

In this story: Ewbank's · Guildford · Surrey · James Spooner

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem