1998 Pokemon Japanese Promo CoroCoro Comics Holo Pokemon Illustrator CGC 8 NM-MT

With its iconic artwork and storied history, no Pokémon card matches the Illustrator Pikachu's combination of popularity, rarity, and iconic status. Featuring the elusive double star rarity symbol found on the most coveted Japanese printings, the Illustrator Pikachu rightfully sits atop the upper echelon of Pokémon collecting. It's maintained this lofty standing for decades and will continue to do so as long as collectors continue their quest to catch 'em all. Illustrated by artist Atsuko Nishida, the original character designer of Pikachu for the Game Boy video games, the Illustrator Pikachu was initially awarded to first- and second-place winners of a CoroCoro Comics drawing contest in January 1998. The publication initially gave out 23 copies of the card. Subsequent art contests, which required participants to design their own Pokémon cards and judged them either on their artwork or their attacks, awarded another 16 copies to bring the total of officially distributed examples to a still-paltry 39. The card's design, which depicts Pikachu gleefully illustrating Charmander and Mew, harkens back to the origins of this now-famous card. This CGC 8 example is set to electrify this month’s Premier Auction, igniting a surge of interest from bidders looking to add one of the most iconic TCG printings of all time. The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 01/21/2024.