Heritage is running a Trading Cards Special Online Auction now through March 25, 2021, led by a rare Pokémon First Edition Base Set Sealed Booster Box that could bring $400,000. The auction, which includes 159 Pokémon lots, coincides with Pokémon’s 25th anniversary that was on February 27.

“The popularity of Pokémon is global,” Jesus Garcia, Heritage Consignment Director for Trading Cards, said. “Levi’s is releasing a line of Pokémon-themed clothing, there is going to be a virtual concert with Post Malone, and Katy Perry has signed on to do a song on a project with the Pokémon Company.”

Released in January 1999, the booster set contains 102 cards, including the extremely popular Charizard card. The offered box is filled with 396 cards with 11 in each of 36 booster packs. Since the cards have not been handled, they are likely in Gem Mint condition.

“Heritage Auctions sold a similar copy in January 2021 for $408,000, which shows that the demand and popularity have never been higher,” Garcia added.

One of the leading single Pokémon cards in the auction is the rare Charizard #4 First Edition Base Set Hologram Trading Card BGS NM-MT+ 8.5. Displaying art by Mitsuhiro Arita, the card features Charizard, the final evolved form of Charmander.

The Tropical Mega Battle Lucky Stadium Trainer Promo Trading Card PSA Mint 9 features art by Kouichi Ooyama. Coming from the Tropical Mega Battle Tournament at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu from 1999-2001, this card is one of six graded PSA Mint 9.

The First Edition Jungle Set Sealed Booster Box has 64 cards in three dozen 11-card booster packs. It was the second set made for the game and the first to include copies of the holographic cards in a non-holographic format.

The First Edition Team Rocket Set Sealed Booster Box is the fifth expansion set. It includes Dark Raichu, numbered 83/82, which made this set the first to include a secret rare card, and the widely popular Dark Charizard. The box includes 36 packs, each with 11 cards for a total of 396 cards.

Magic: The Gathering is another dominate trading card game in the auction with 188 lots. Topping the listings is the Magic: The Gathering Collectors Edition Sealed Box Set. Produced in the game’s first year, it contains all 302 original Deckmaster series cards and duplicate land cards for a total of 363 cards.

One of the Magic rarities in the auction is the Richard Garfield Promos Splendid Genesis/110 #RG97 BGS NM-MT+ 8.5. This card is 1 of just 110 produced to commemorate the day Garfield, the game’s creator, became a father for the first time. It was given to Garfield’s family, close friends, and some Wizards of the Coast employees.

Two “Power Nine” cards that are 1 of 1,100 printed in the Alpha Edition are in the auction. The Ancestral Recall Alpha Edition BCGS 9 allowed players to draw three cards or require an opponent to do so and the Time Walk Alpha Edition BCGS 9 allowed players to take an extra turn.

“Alpha cards are incredibly rare in any grade because they were made to be played with,” Heritage Magic: The Gathering Specialist Brian Wiedman said. “They were tossed out or forgotten. How many of the 1,100 copies of each rare card still exist is a mystery, but it is far fewer than people may think.”

The top Yu-Gi-Oh! lot is the First Edition Legend of Blue Eyes Sealed Booster Box. It was the first set released for the popular trading card game in 2002 featuring monsters like Yugi Motou’s Dark Magician, Joey Wheeler’s Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and Seto Kaiba’s Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The box contains 24 booster packs, each with nine cards, for a total of 216 cards.

Two other featured Yu-Gi-Oh! lots are the Starter Decks: Joey and Pegasus Sealed Box and Unlimited Pharaoh’s Servant Set Sealed Booster Box.