‘Jaws Hit the Floor’ at Auction House as Retired Decorator Sells Pokémon Cards for $2 Million
A retired decorator from Woking, England, has unexpectedly become a millionaire after discovering that a dormant Pokémon card collection stored in his loft for decades was worth a fortune. The collection, which he had accumulated in the late 1990s when his son was young—initially as a potential investment—was auctioned off at Ewbank’s Auctions (Surrey-based) for £1.56 million, approximately $2 million USD.
The seller remained unaware of the collection’s true value until he read about individual cards fetching £6,000 (roughly $8,000). The sale represents what Ewbank’s claims was the UK’s most valuable trading card auction ever. The story highlights the explosive growth of the Pokémon Trading Card Game collector market in recent years, where particularly sought-after cards have achieved staggering prices. While the TCG collecting space has developed a reputation as a niche hobby for dedicated collectors, this windfall demonstrates the market’s mainstream appeal and the unexpected financial potential lurking in forgotten childhood collections.