Pokémon card values are soaring. What collectors should know before buying or selling

Competitors hold and deal Pokemon cards as they play during the during the Pokémon European International Championship 2025 at ExCel London on February 21, 2025 in London, England.John Keeble | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesIn 2022, a rare Topps 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card — one of sports-card collectors' holiest grails — sold for $12.6 million. Wow, you say, that's a lot of dough for a thin piece of cardboard, slab of bubblegum not included. Well, what do you say about a 1998 Pikachu Illustrator Pokémon card going for $16.5 million earlier this year? If you're pro wrestler and social media influencer Logan Paul, seller of the item, you say, Not a bad return on the $5.3 million (plus a trade) I paid for it in 2021. Those are extreme examples, but a vivid illustration of how TCGs — shorthand for competitive trading card games, led by Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh! — are encroaching on an over-saturated sports-card market as an enticing investment opportunity. Throw in vintage and modern-day non-sports trading cards, depicting historical events and fictional characters ranging from the Civil War to Luke Skywalker, and it's a whole new ballgame. The record $16.5 mi...