Overview
- Goldin closed the 41–42 day auction at a final price of $16,492,000 after a $13.3 million hammer and a 24% buyer’s premium, with hours of extended bidding driving the surge.
- Guinness World Records certified the sale as the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction, eclipsing the previous mark set by a 1952 Mickey Mantle.
- The winning bidder was identified as venture capitalist A.J. Scaramucci, with Paul including his diamond-encrusted necklace and custom case and pledging hand delivery.
- Paul’s copy is the only known Pikachu Illustrator graded PSA Gem Mint 10 from an estimated 39–41 cards awarded in a late-1990s CoroCoro illustration contest.
- Paul acquired the card in 2021 for about $5.275 million, and reports estimate he netted roughly $8 million in profit after fees.