UK-based auction house Ewbank’s has taken over £1m in trading card sales since it launched its dedicated auctions in 2021, and the latest, on May 16th, netted over £105,000.
Leading the way was a Japanese Darkness, and to Light (Neo Destiny) 2001 opened booster box containing 30 sealed booster packs that sold for a premium-inclusive £13,000. The vendor used to have a unit in an antiques and collectables centre where they traded Pokémon cards from the late 1990s to early 2000s.
The same vendor also consigned a Japanese Town On No Map (Aquapolis) 2002 first edition e-series sealed booster box of 40 booster packs, and that took £12,350.
A complete Pokémon 1st edition Base Set, with 102 cards, was another highlight at £10,400. It included rare cards Shadowless Charizard, Venular and Blastoise, with conditions among the cards ranging from heavy play to near mint. The set included the more popular red cheeks variant of Pikachu. The Machamp is the shadowed unlimited version, the Raichu is German and the Arcanine is Dutch.
“This is a massive market with a vast number of dedicated collectors and a global following. Ewbank’s has led the charge in developing the auction side of this business, and it is astonishing just how many people pitch in to bid. Everyone wants to know what the antiques of the future are. Well, these are certainly among them.”
Chris Fresson, Ewbank’s
Other highlights include a Pokémon Fossil 1st edition sealed booster box, which also took £10,400. Fossil is the name given to the third main expansion of the Pokémon Trading Card Game and is based on Pokémon Red and Blue, featuring Generation I Pokémon and Fossil Pokémon. The English expansion was released on October 10, 1999, and includes popular Pokémon such as Dragonite, Gengar and the Legendary Birds.
In all, the top ten lots alone sold for a combined £70,460.
Key to collecting trading cards is the official endorsement from independent grading company The SubCenter, which has established a formal partnership with Ewbank’s.
Ewbank’s specialist Chris Fresson promoted the sale at The London Card Show at Sandown Racecourse on May 11th and 12th, where leading Pokémon streamer Dean Leander singled this lot out for his Instagram review of the show.
Chris said: “This is a massive market with a vast number of dedicated collectors and a global following. Ewbank’s have led the charge in developing the auction side of this business, and it is astonishing just how many people pitch in to bid. Everyone wants to know what the antiques of the future are. Well, these are certainly among them.”
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Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He has almost two decades of experience in journalism, and left Esports News UK in June 2025.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He also previously worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation.
