Rare Pokémon card collection fetches more than £55k at auction

The cards were collected during the 1990s and 2000s

A large collection of rare Pokémon cards has sold at auction for more than £55,000 - more than double the guide price.

The collection, which had belonged to a Nottinghamshire-based enthusiast, dated from the late 1990s to the early 2000s.

Auctioneer Richard Winterton had valued the collection at about £25,000 prior to the auction on Tuesday.

He said the sale received interest from around the world, including Japan, China, and the US.

The 2,407-card collection included 10 complete sets - those with every card from a set - and five master sets - that included every variant of every card.

Auctioneer Richard Winterton said some sets were bought to secure a single card

Another lot featured 16 promotional, oversized versions of cards called Pokémon Box Toppers.

The cards went under the hammer at The Lichfield Auction Centre in Staffordshire, fetching a total of £55,270.

Mr Winterton said it was a "fantastic" sale due to the "incredible quality" of the collection.

'Fierce competition'

"Some of these cards are so sought after that collectors would potentially acquire the whole set just to secure that one card," he said.

"This remains a seriously hot market internationally."

The Japanese multi-media franchise is based around competing animals with special powers.

The auctioneers said a Skyridge set, which comprised 332 cards, sold for £18,000 to a UK online bidder online against "fierce competition" from a bidder in the room.

A Legendary Collection was purchased by a bidder in the room for £8,600, while Aquapolis sold for £8,000 to another online bidder in the UK.

Complete sets came from the Neo Destiny, Neo Revelation, Neo Discovery, Neo Genesis, Gym Challenge, Gym Heroes, Team Rocket, Base Set 2, Fossil, and Jungle expansions.

Pokémon feature in films, TV series and online gaming but Trading Card Games (TCG) have a huge following.