Ultra Rare Pokemon card up for auction; high sale expected

Heritage Auctions has the Pokemon card Pikachu Illustrator is currently up for auction, with an estimated sale of $50,000. This may seem as too big of a price for a Pokemon card, but with its rarity and history, it could be worth it.

One of only 39 cards released, this rare card, which has franchise mascot Pikachu holding two kinds of brushes, was not part of any Pokemon Trading Card Game pack. Instead, this was exclusively made and given as a prize for winners of Japanese magazine CoroCoro comic's illustrating contests, as IGN reports. Three contests, which ran from October 1997 to August 1998, made several Best Award and Excellence Award winners the proud owners of this extremely rare card.

Another thing that makes this prized card, illustrated by artist Atsuko Nishida, fetch for a high price is the fact that this card never saw an English printing, which means it was only made in Japanese. It also has the word "Illustrator" on the top of the card, instead of the word "Trainer".  

Gamespot also reports that the card has been certified authentic, as noted by Heritage Auctions. This is a very important note for the item, as it is prone to be counterfeited due to its rarity and the hefty price tag associated with it.

Currently, this card holds the title of the most expensive individual Pokemon card. Most rare Pokemon cards, in its mint condition, would fetch hundreds of dollars in the market. The ShinyRare Holo Rayquaza promotion card from the EX Deoxys line and the First Edition Charizard from the Base set taking the top spots, the former even reaching upwards of $500.

Interested bidders would still have time to make their bids, as they only have until November 19 to get their hands on this valuable piece of Pokemon TCG history.