A PSA 10 Rayquaza Gold Star Pokémon TCG card has sold for $38,400 (£30,883.97) at auction, according to trading card marketplace PWCC. The listing for the auction, which ended on April 16, calls the 2005 EX Deoxys Holo Rayquaza Gold Star card “one of the most breathtaking and coveted Pokémon cards ever produced”.
This Rayquaza card was first released in the EX Deoxys Pokémon TCG expansion in 2005. Like other Gold Stars, its art features a shiny version of the Pokémon. The card was illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda, and Rayquaza is seen reaching beyond the usual borders of the trading card.
Part of Rayquaza’s high price is down to its VIP membership in the rare Pokémon cards club. Gold Star Pokémon cards had an estimated pull of one per every two booster boxes. PWCC even speculates Rayquaza is “next to impossible to acquire from a booster pack”, adding that PSA has only graded 47 PSA 10 copies of the card. Combine this rarity with the age of the cards and beautiful artwork, and you’ve got one pricey bit of paper.
According to PSA, the highest sum a PSA 10 Rayquaza has ever fetched is $45,100 (£36,272.58). This is the price the card sold for in an eBay auction back in 2020. TCG app Collectr estimates the card’s value reached somewhere between $45,000 and $50,000 in 2020, despite the card only selling for around $7,000 in previous years.
For more recent Pokémon TCG news, check out this $10,000 Umbreon card sale, or this “galaxy brain” play from a junior competitor in the EUIC finals tournament.