Pika-cha-ching! British retiree’s attic Pokémon cards, some bought from Malaysia, fetch £1.56m

A retired decorator from Woking achieved millionaire status after auctioning a forgotten collection of Pokémon cards for £1.56 million.

Initially bought in the late 1990s for his son but left untouched, the cards were discovered to be in mint condition and highly valuable.

The auction, conducted by Ewbank's, marked the UK's most valuable trading card sale to date, with a single set featuring a near-mint Charizard card selling for £100,000.

This milestone event also set a possible European record, surpassing a previous auction high of £872,000.

LONDON, Oct 23 — A retired decorator from Woking has gone from painting walls to millionaire status after a stash of Pokémon cards forgotten in his attic sold for £1.56 million (RM8.56 million) at auction.

The man, who asked not to be named, had no idea the cards were worth anything until he read in his local newspaper about a single card fetching more than £6,000 (RM32,940), the BBC reported.

“I know people always talk about finding treasure in the attic, but in my case that is literally true,” he was quoted as saying.

He bought the cards in the late 1990s, when his son was swapping them at school, thinking they looked nice and might make a good investment, though the boy never got to touch them.

Some of the complete sets came from a seller in Malaysia on eBay.

One set that cost him £300 (RM1,647) at the time fetched £75,000 (RM411,750) at Wednesday’s auction.

Filed sealed into bespoke Pokémon binders, the cards sat in the attic for 15 years after his son lost interest.

UK auction house Ewbank’s said staff were floored when he brought in 42 sets.

“When we saw what he had – all in mint condition – we couldn’t believe it,” Ewbank’s head of trading cards James Spooner was quoted as saying.

The top lot, a Legendary Collection Complete Master Set with a near-mint Charizard card, was pitched at £15,000 to £20,000 (RM82,350 to RM109,800) but sold for £100,000 (RM549,000).

Ewbank’s said it was the UK’s most valuable trading card auction ever and possibly a European record, beating the previous best of £872,000 (RM4.79 million) set in London on October 9.

Auctioneer Andrew Ewbank, who ran the sale himself and announced afterwards that he was heading for a lie down, told the BBC : “It was a hell of a ride.”

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一位来自沃金的退休室内设计师通过拍卖一套被人遗忘的宝可梦卡片，以 156 万英镑的价格成为百万富翁。

这些卡片最初是上世纪 90 年代末为他的儿子购买的，但一直未曾动用，后来发现它们保存完好，极具价值。

此次拍卖由 Ewbank's 主持，是英国迄今为止最有价值的集换式卡牌拍卖，其中一套包含一张近乎全新的喷火龙卡牌的卡组以 10 万英镑的价格售出。

此次里程碑式的拍卖活动也可能创造了欧洲纪录，超过了此前 872,000 英镑的拍卖最高纪录。

伦敦，10 月 23 日——沃金一位退休的油漆工，因为阁楼里被遗忘的一堆宝可梦卡片在拍卖会上以 156 万英镑（856 万令吉）的价格售出，一夜之间从粉刷墙壁变成了百万富翁。

据英国广播公司报道，这名要求匿名的男子此前并不知道这些卡片值钱，直到他在当地报纸上看到一则报道，其中一张卡片的成交价超过了 6000 英镑（32940 令吉）。

“我知道人们总是说在阁楼里发现宝藏，但就我而言，这真的是真的，”他说道。

他在 20 世纪 90 年代末买下了这些卡片，当时他的儿子在学校交换卡片，他觉得这些卡片看起来不错，而且可能是一项不错的投资，尽管他的儿子从未有机会接触过这些卡片。

部分完整套装购自马来西亚 eBay 卖家。

一套当时花费他 300 英镑（1647 令吉）的藏品，在周三的拍卖会上拍出了 75000 英镑（411750 令吉）的高价。

这些卡片被密封地装进特制的宝可梦卡册里，在他儿子失去兴趣后，在阁楼里放了 15 年。

英国拍卖行 Ewbank's 的工作人员表示，当他带来 42 套藏品时，他们都惊呆了。

“当我们看到他拥有的那些东西——而且全部都是全新状态——我们简直不敢相信，”Ewbank 交易卡部门主管 James Spooner 说道。

最高价拍品是一套传奇收藏完整大师套装，其中包含一张近乎全新的喷火龙卡，估价为 15,000 英镑至 20,000 英镑（82,350 至 109,800 令吉），但最终以 100,000 英镑（549,000 令吉）的价格售出。

Ewbank 表示，这是英国有史以来最有价值的交易卡拍卖，也可能是欧洲纪录，打破了 10 月 9 日在伦敦创下的 872,000 英镑（479 万令吉）的纪录。

拍卖师安德鲁·尤班克亲自主持了拍卖会，并在拍卖结束后宣布他要去躺一会儿。他告诉 BBC：“这真是一段惊心动魄的经历。”

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