Retired decorator becomes an overnight millionaire as Pokemon cards kept in attic for 15 years sell for £1.56 million at auction; collector bought sets for as little as £300

A retired decorator has struck gold with a collection of Pokemon cards that remained tucked away in his attic for 15 years, eventually fetching a staggering £1.56 million (approximately Rs 18.5 crore) at an auction. The collector, who has chosen to remain anonymous, had no idea that the cards he had purchased decades ago could be worth a fortune until a newspaper article prompted him to get the collection evaluated.The collection, which was expected to fetch up to £270,000, far exceeded the auction house's estimates, with collectors, investors and YouTubers competing to acquire the rare cards. The sale, conducted by Surrey-based auction house Ewbank's on October 21, turned out to be its most successful in more than 30 years of business.Pokemon cards collection fetches nearly six times its estimated valueTitled Pokemon: A Decade of Masters (1999-2009), the single-owner collection stunned auctioneers as bidding pushed the final proceeds well beyond expectations. According to James Spooner, head of trading cards at Ewbank's, the team was taken aback by both the quality of the cards and the fact that their owner had been unaware of their true value.“When we saw what he had – all in mint condition – we couldn’t believe it, or the fact that he had no idea what they were worth,” Spooner said in a press release.He revealed that the collector had amassed 42 complete sets, of which 41 were offered for sale, while he decided to retain one for himself. The auction house had initially estimated that the collection could fetch as much as £270,000. However, strong interest ahead of the sale indicated that the final figure could be considerably higher.“The day before the sale we already had £825,000 in commission bids,” Spooner said, adding that the collection was the most valuable of its kind the auction house had handled.Rare Charizard card sells for £100,000Among the highlights was the Legendary Collection Complete Master Set, comprising all 110 cards, 110 Reverse Holo ‘Firework’ cards and four Box Toppers. The set featured a Charizard card in near-mint condition, which had been estimated to sell for between £15,000 and £20,000.However, the rare collection attracted intense bidding and achieved a hammer price of £100,000, significantly exceeding its original estimate.The auction also demonstrated the growing appetite among collectors and investors for rare Pokemon trading cards, particularly complete sets from the franchise's early years. Cards that were once purchased as collectibles or childhood hobbies are now commanding substantial sums in the global memorabilia market.Collector bought Pokemon cards for as little as £300The retired decorator, who is from Woking, Surrey, began collecting the cards in the late 1990s after his son developed an interest in Pokemon and started swapping cards with friends at school.Explaining how he built the collection, he said he was drawn to the cards' appearance and began considering whether they could prove to be a worthwhile investment.“I was lucky enough to find someone in Malaysia who sold complete sets, and I bought a couple of things from them on eBay,” he said.The seller later offered him complete master sets for different Pokemon card releases. Rather than repeatedly buying sealed packs and hoping to collect all the cards in a particular series, he decided that purchasing complete sets would be a more practical option.“The first set I bought cost me around £300. It’s the Sky Ridge Charizard set,” he recalled.One of the sets he purchased for approximately £300 eventually sold for £75,000 at auction, illustrating the extraordinary appreciation in value of some rare Pokemon collectibles over the years.How a newspaper article helped uncover the hidden treasureThe collection remained in the family's attic after the collector's son eventually lost interest in Pokemon. The cards had been carefully placed in bespoke Pokemon binders while still in pristine condition, helping preserve their quality over the years.It was only after reading a local newspaper report about a Pokemon card selling for more than £6,000 that the collector decided to have his own collection assessed.Looking back at the discovery, he said his son had his own cards but was never allowed to handle the valuable sets that ultimately became the family's unexpected fortune.“I know people always talk about finding treasure in the attic, but in my case that is literally true. I had no idea what I had until the team at Ewbank’s explained it to me,” he said.The auction generated considerable excitement, with bidders participating from across the world. Andrew Ewbank, who runs the auction house founded by his late father, Chris Ewbank, conducted the sale himself.Describing the atmosphere, he said the build-up had been phenomenal and the auction had lived up to expectations, attracting more people to the saleroom than at any time since before the Covid-19 pandemic.“The buzz was incredible, especially because the collectors could not believe how good this collection was – extensive, untouched, complete, and with just about every rarity you could hope for,” he said.Another Pokemon card collection fetched £32,800 earlier this yearThis was not the first time Ewbank's had uncovered a valuable Pokemon card collection hidden away for years.In April 2026, teacher Andrew Braund approached the auction house with a collection he had kept in his parents' attic for around two decades. He consigned three of his rarest cards, which fetched a combined £32,800 at an auction on April 16.Braund subsequently used the proceeds to help pay for his wedding to Rachel Moseley in August.According to Andrew Ewbank, the auction house has spent the past decade expanding its popular culture sales, covering collectibles such as vinyl records, vintage posters, retro video games, action comics and trading cards.The strategy has helped it attract international buyers, with online bidding allowing collectors from across the world to compete for rare items.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.