A fan of Pokémon found her wedding budget in a box forgotten in the attic. Falling back on his old map binder, the Briton Andrew Braund37, discovered that three of his Charizard were worth tens of thousands of dollars.
What seemed like a simple sorting of memories at his parents’ house Wimbornein Dorset, ended at an auction house, with a check capable of covering the ceremony planned for the summer of 2026. Behind this story, there is above all a cult series of the card game and a market that has become ultra competitive.
How three Skyridge Charizard made Andrew Braund $44,000?
While tidying up the family attic, Andrew Braund unearthed his collection from Pokémon TCG and showed it to a friend who runs a card shop. “I thought it would be worth £500, a pretty trivial amount. My friend then came to the last box, looked at them and asked me to sit down,” he said, as quoted by IGN.
Among the cards, three copies of Holographic Charizard from the 2003 Skyridge setincluding a noted copy PSA 9. After expertise, these cards were auctioned at Ewbank’s Auctionsin Surrey. The most beautiful piece, a Charizard Skyridge PSA 9, went for £17,000, or around $23,000 or €20,000.
In total, the three Charizard fetched £32,800, or around $44,000 and almost €37,000. “When I saw the selling price of the cards, I said to myself: ‘Wow, incredible!’” confides Andrew Braund, who describes the final sum as “mind-blowing”. Enough to finance a good part of his marriage to his fiancée Rachel.
© Ewbank’s Auctions
Why can a Skyridge Charizard Pokémon card be worth so much?
The extension Sky Ridgereleased in 2003, is one of the most sought-after series in the card game Pokémon. It’s the last of the era Wizards of the Coastwith smaller print runs and a particular design of so-called E-Cards, which makes it rare on the market, especially in excellent condition.
The note PSA 9 means a card is almost perfect, with only tiny flaws. In the world of collecting, going from “Near Mint” to PSA 9 multiplies the value, because impeccable examples are very few in number. Even so, Andrew Braund’s $44,000 remains far from the all-time record: the card Pikachu Illustrator adorned with jewels Logan Paulgraded PSA 10, was sold in early 2026 for $16,492,000, or approximately 15.5 million euros.
What if your Pokémon cards also financed a wedding or a vacation?
If you still have map binders at your parents’ house, this story makes you want to check it out. Start by isolating cards from the first generations, especially holographic ones with a black star at the bottom of the card and popular Pokémon like Charizard, Mewtwo or Lugia.
Then look at the condition: no deep scratches, no bleached corners, no creases. A very clean card could justify grading with a service like PSAwhich assigns a rating from 1 to 10 and serves as a global benchmark for auctions. To get an idea of prices, check completed sales on major specialized platforms rather than fancy ads.
Not everyone will finance an entire wedding with three cards, but before you throw away your old boxes, a quick look could turn a few childhood memories into a real boost for your next big project.