A second million-dollar Charizard, and a correction
SI Collectibles' top five for the week ending September 12, published Sunday, September 14, was led by a 1999 First Edition shadowless Base Set Charizard #4 in PSA 10, sold on eBay on September 9 for $1,000,952.84. It is the second seven-figure Charizard of 2026 and the first to clear a million; the February Goldin sale with Logan Paul provenance was $954,800. In Monday's issue we wrote that the First Edition Charizard had not traded publicly since February and that a 10 "would almost certainly clear its own record." The first half of that was wrong: it had traded five days earlier, and it did clear the record. We regret the error.
The rest of that top five: the Call of Legends Lugia at $367,220 (Goldin, our Chart of the Day last Thursday), a Dragon Frontiers Charizard Gold Star listed at $367,220 at Fanatics Weekly, a complete 1993 Magic: The Gathering Alpha set at $234,500 on eBay, and a 1999 Japanese Vending Masaki promo Gengar in PSA 10 at $207,000 on eBay on September 12. Weekly total about $2.19 million. The Torchic Gold Star's $2.7 million on Alt, which closed September 10, was not in Card Ladder's data for the week.
The Masaki Gengar
The 1999 Masaki promos were Japanese mail-order cards: collectors sent in points from vending machine sheets and received holo promos of Masaki's Pokemon, including the Gengar. They are scarce in any grade and very scarce in a 10. At $207,000 the Gengar joins the Snap cards, the regional trainers and the Fan Club promos in the tier of 1999-2000 Japanese promotional cards that have gone from five figures to six this summer.
PSA on Tuesday
PSA's fortnightly backlog update is due September 22. The September 8 report put the backlog at 9.9 million, down a million in two weeks at roughly 500,000 a week, and said a closed service tier could be evaluated for reopening before the end of September. Tuesday's number is the first to include the submission wave from 30th Celebration, and the first test of whether the pace holds when a major set launches.
Pocket's next set
Pokemon TCG Pocket's next booster is scheduled for September 30, the day after the Team Rocket's Ambition campaign ends. The 2000 Team Rocket set in our vintage basket, which read flat for four weeks after Pocket's Rocket set launched, moved +0.8 percent this week. One reading is not a trend, but it is the first time the set has moved since the Pocket spotlight began.
Sources: SI Collectibles, September 14, 2026; Heavy, September 8, 2026.
Quick Hits ran in The Pack Report, September 17, 2026: 30th Celebration Is Out, and an Unrevealed Mew Sold for $20,000 on Day One. Published by Rip Station.