The Mcdonald’s Pokemon Cards are taking the world by storm. Collectors (and scalpers) from all over the US are scrambling to the Golden Arches in order to try and secure themselves a Pokemon Happy Meal. The promotion is taking place in collaboration with The Pokemon Company, to celebrate the franchise’s 25th Anniversary and sees 50 different Pokemon Trading Cards available in special Happy Meal exclusive packs. They are all of the 24 starters plus a special Mcdonald’s Pikachu.
These packs are selling for extortionate amounts of money on auction site eBay, with 150 packs selling for over $1000. Some of the cards also have particularly high values, this includes the Mcdonald’s Holographic Pikachu card. Let’s take a look at this and some of the rarest and most expensive Pikachu cards in history.
McDonald’s Holographic Pikachu 2021
Realistically, this card isn’t anywhere near as rare as some of the others, however, the hype and zeitgeist around the current promotion has increased its value. The card is selling for around $75-$100 on eBay right now, however, this will likely drop as it’s been confirmed that reprints will be happening.
We’re aware that some fans are experiencing difficulties purchasing certain Pokémon TCG products due to very high demand. In response, we are reprinting impacted products at maximum capacity to ensure more fans can enjoy the Pokémon TCG.
More info here: https://t.co/sClZo3BXsp
— Play Pokémon (@playpokemon) February 10, 2021
Red Cheeks Pikachu
The base set Pikachu card that you remember sees everybody’s favourite rodent sporting yellow cheeks. However, this wasn’t the original design. The initial print of the card had red cheeks and this is what makes the card so rare, and valuable. Wizard’s of the Coast changed the design in later prints, meaning little red cheeks Pikachu became a rare card.
Recent eBay auctions (finishing just yesterday) have the card selling for just shy of $600.
Special Delivery Pikachu
Yes, another promotional card. This time, available only in the US and Canada.
Special Delivery Pikachu was available at the end of 2020 to celebrate the launch of the Pokémon Center Canada site. It was available who spent over $20 on the site and the card has since been selling for over $300 for a sealed copy or nearly $2000 for a PSA graded one.
Pikachu on the Ball
The Pikachu on the Ball card, like most others on this list was a special promotional Pikachu card. The card was only available for those who registered interest in The FA Pokémon Youth Futsal Programme for 2020/2021 in the UK and has been seen to sell on eBay for upwards of $1300.
20th Anniversary Golden Pikachu
This is a slightly different entry on the list. A special 24-karat gold Pikachu card was released in Japan five years ago. The card was designed and released to celebrate the franchise’s 20th anniversary.
This Pikachu wasn’t available for general purchase and was only available via a special lottery, in which the winners would have the opportunity to purchase the card for the equivalent of just over $2000.
Illustrator Pikachu
Arguably the rarest and most sought-after card on this list is Illustrator Pikachu. There were only 39 copies of this card ever printed and they were handed out to contest winners all the way back in 1998.
Back in 2019, a copy of this card sold at auction for around $200,000, as two potential purchasers go locked in a very expensive bidding war.
The post McDonald’s 25th Anniversary Holographic Pikachu and Five of the Rarest Pikachu Cards by Sam Woods appeared first on DualShockers.