A rare first-edition 1999 Pokémon Charizard No. 4 card sold on Thursday for US$336,000 at auction.
The Charizard card, sold by Heritage Auctions, drew widespread attention because it's from the game's first English print run and had been given a perfect PSA GEM-MT 10 grading. It's one of only 121 to be given that rating, according to the auction house.
The sale was part of a larger trading card games auction, which included Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards. In total, the auction netted more than $3.7 million.
"This auction, especially the trophy-level cards, did exceptionally well," Jesus Garcia, Heritage Auctions Trading Card Games consignment director, said in a statement.
"This sale reinforced the fact that demand for Pokémon cards continues its climb. We fully expected Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering to fare well, and they did."
Since their introduction in the 1990's, Pokémon cards have made a comeback and have even sparked a sales frenzy.
Last week, a Georgia man was sentenced to prison for using COVID-19 relief funds to buy a Pokémon Charizard card, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a release. He purchased the card for $57,789.
In February, Goldin Auctions sold a rare 1998 Pocket Monsters Japanese Promo Illustrator Holographic Pikachu card for $900,000. Goldin says it was an "all-time record public sale for any Pokémon card."
