This forgotten Celebrations Pikachu Pokémon card just jumped $500 in a week
The Flying Pikachu V Pokémon card from Celebrations has skyrocketed in price in PSA 10, up from $100 in the beginning of June.
Pikachu and anniversary products are a match made in Pokémon card heaven. For collectors, they’re adorable, nostalgia-filled reminders of our love for the franchise - and for investors, they’re an integral addition to a portfolio. However, while Flying Pikachu V from Celebrations sells for around $5 ungraded, the PSA 10 version has skyrocketed in just over a week, joining the electric mouse in the skies.
Surging prices should be a familiar story to Pokémon TCG collectors right now. However, strangely, Flying Pikachu V has avoided the eventual buyout from collectors for years. Even now, the ungraded version remains cheap by most standards - especially for an adorable pull from the 25th anniversary Pokémon set.
That was the case, until very recently. At the beginning of June, you could buy a PSA 10 version of the card for just north of $100, and that’s cheap compared to most modern chase cards. Now, that’s not the case, as according to Collectr, the price has gone up by $500 in just over a week, with some sellers listing the card for upwards of $1000.
Even looking at eBay sold listings, the PSA 10 version of the card was sold for $134.99 on the 1st of June, then $200 on the 8th, and then on the 15th? $650. For most chase cards, there’s a gradual increase over time, so what’s happened here?
One possible explanation is the impending release of Pokémon 30th Celebration. Anniversary products often send collectors back to earlier milestone sets, and Celebrations remains one of the franchise’s most beloved modern releases. That’s a natural thing, and to be expected in this Pokémon hype bubble.
There’s also the fact that, by most modern standards, the population of PSA 10s isn’t overly high. There’s over 2,000 - which is a fair amount - but it’s actually just 10% of Moonbreon’s PSA 10 pop. That’s a huge gap. It also means that sales are less frequent, so the price can surge quickly between listings.
With raw copies still selling for around $5, some collectors may choose to buy ungraded copies and submit them for grading instead of paying current PSA 10 prices. Of course, there’s no guarantee of receiving a Gem Mint grade, which helps explain why high-end copies continue to command a premium. You can use my best grading service guide to get some support in grading your cards.
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