The focus this week might be on the new 3DS games, but one Pokemon card collector has snagged a very rare card at auction for a whopping sum of $54,970.

Pokémon cards may be one of dozens of fads that caught fire and then faded during the ‘90s and early ‘00s, but the Pokémon brand still has plenty of clout around the world. And even though the cards themselves aren’t nearly as popular as they once were, there are still some very avid collectors out there who are willing to pay top dollar for rare versions.

Speaking of paying top dollar, one Pokémon card sale has just snagged the world record for the most expensive Pokémon card transaction. Selling for $54,970, the card is now the most expensive ever.

The Illustrator card auction took place on November 18th in Beverly Hills and was held by Heritage Auctions. No details on the auction winner have been announced, but the collector will likely have plenty of opportunities to come forward if he or she wishes.

While there are plenty of rare Pokémon cards out there, few can top the extremely limited Illustrator card. For those who may not be familiar, the Illustrator Pokémon card was created as a prize for three illustration contests held by CoroCoro Comics, a Japanese magazine.

Curiously enough, the main prize for the contest was a set of 20 cards with three different winners’ designs on them, and the Illustrator card was packaged in as a bonus. Some 20 other entrants in CoroCoro’s contest also received the card as a type of consolation prize, which is not too bad if you ask us.

Current estimates believe that somewhere between 20 and 39 copies of the Illustrator card were ever created and released, and about 10 of them are in “top condition.” When owners began to realize the value of the card it began selling for as much as $23,000, but that pales in comparison to the most recent one. What’s more impressive is that the $54,970 price tag was at an auction, meaning there are more potential buyers for the card, who would be willing to pay close to that amount for it.

The auction itself couldn’t have come at a better time, as Pokémon hype is higher than usual thanks to the release of Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon this past Friday. Not to mention, casual gamers and non-gamers have become more aware of Pokémon thanks to the Pokémon GO craze. Admittedly, most of these people are not willing to spend $54,000 on a rare Pokémon card, but they might better understand the mindset of someone who would.

Source: Go Nintendo