The Future Of Collecting: Alladan Flinn Of Based Trading Cards On Cards, Community, And Culture

In February 2026, a single piece of cardboard sold for $16,492,000. The 1998 Pikachu Illustrator — the only known PSA 10 example of one of the rarest Pokémon cards in existence — was sold by Logan Paul through Goldin Auctions to A.J. Scaramucci, who called the purchase the first move in a “planetary treasure hunt” for the world’s rarest objects. It became the most expensive trading card ever…