A PSA 8 Trophy Pikachu is bid to $2.35M, past the record for any Trophy Pikachu
One day into pre-bidding, the top lot in Goldin's 2026 Pokémon 30th Anniversary auction stood at $1,925,000, or $2,348,500 with the buyer's premium. Star City Games reported the figure on October 8. The card is a 1997 Pokémon Japanese Promo Gold 1st Place 1st Tournament #1 Trophy Pikachu graded PSA 8, and ICv2 reports it is the only copy in PSA's census.
The day before, ICv2 put pre-bids at over $1 million with premium. Live bidding doesn't open until October 15, and Star City Games says the auction runs through at least October 25.
The record it has already passed
The highest public sale for any Trophy Pikachu came at Goldin in May. A 1998 Japanese Promo Bronze 3rd Place 3rd Tournament Trophy Pikachu in PSA 10 hammered at $1,450,000 and sold for $1,769,000 with premium in Goldin's 2026 Spring TCG & Manga Elite Auction, according to Star City Games. It was the only PSA 10 of that card; the next-best PSA copy is an 8.
Set side by side, the two lots compare like this:
| May 2026 record | Current bid, Oct 8 | |
|---|---|---|
| Card | 1998 Bronze 3rd Place Trophy Pikachu | 1997 Gold 1st Place Trophy Pikachu |
| Grade | PSA 10 | PSA 8 |
| Hammer or bid | $1,450,000 | $1,925,000 |
| With premium | $1,769,000 | $2,348,500 |
Both figures carry the same 22% premium, so the comparison holds either way: the current bid is $475,000 above May's hammer, and $579,500 above the record with premium. A PSA 8 is out-bidding a PSA 10 of a sister trophy before its auction has opened.
Why an 8 is drawing this money
The two cards differ in placing and in supply. The Gold card went to the first-place finisher, the Bronze to third. And with one copy in PSA's census, this PSA 8 has no 9 or 10 to trade up to and no second sale to price it against. A bidder can't wait for a better copy because none has been graded.
That puts the 1997 Gold card in a small group of Pokémon cards priced by how many exist rather than by grade. The year's public sales show how high that group now reaches:
| When | Card | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2026 | Pikachu Illustrator | $16,492,000 with premium | Japan Today |
| Sept 2026 | PSA 10 2015 Art Academy "Raincoat" Pikachu, Fanatics | $8,400,000 with premium | Dexerto |
| Sept 2026 | PSA 10 Torchic Gold Star (Team Rocket Returns), Alt | $2,700,000 | ComicBook.com |
| May 2026 | PSA 10 1998 Bronze 3rd Place Trophy Pikachu, Goldin | $1,769,000 with premium | Star City Games |
At $2,348,500 with premium, the Gold Trophy Pikachu already sits between the Torchic and the Raincoat Pikachu, a week before live bidding.
What a pre-bid does and doesn't tell us
A pre-bid is a bid placed before live bidding opens. It isn't a sale price. Goldin's live phase decides where the card closes, and a pre-bid that moved from over $1 million to $1,925,000 in about a day says demand was already active before the open.
The rest of the catalog is a read on how deep that demand runs. ICv2 lists a PSA 10 2000 Black Star Eevee League Promo, a BGS Pristine 10 2004 Skyridge Holo #H9 Gengar, a 2000 Black Star Holo #13 Venusaur Promo and a sealed 2005 Pokémon EX Deoxys booster box. If those lots draw strong bidding as well, the high end has more than one buyer this month. If the Trophy Pikachu climbs while the rest draw ordinary bidding, the money is concentrated in the headline lot.
What to watch
- October 15: live bidding opens at Goldin.
- Through at least October 25: the close, and the final price against today's $2,348,500.
- The supporting lots: the Eevee League Promo and the Skyridge Gengar, as a read on breadth at the top of the market.
Figures are as reported by the sources below on the dates shown. Pre-bids are not sale prices. This is market data and commentary, not investment advice.
Sources
- Star City Games, Gold 1st Place Trophy Pikachu pre-bids near $2 million, Oct 8, 2026
- ICv2, "First Place Promo Pre-Bids Over $1 Million at Goldin's '2026 Pokemon 30th Anniversary' Auction," Oct 7, 2026
- Star City Games, 1998 Bronze Trophy Pikachu sells for $1.7 million, May 20, 2026
- Japan Today, Pikachu Illustrator world-record sale, Feb 2026
- Dexerto, Raincoat Pikachu sells for $8.4 million, Sept 29, 2026
- ComicBook.com, PSA 10 Torchic Gold Star at Alt, Sept 2026