Logan Paul’s $16.49M Pikachu card sale raises questions about PSA 10

When the Goldin auction closed on Feb. 16 at $16.49 million, the PSA 10 Pokémon Pikachu Illustrator card became one of the most valuable trading cards ever sold. Within hours, social media lit up with renewed questions about whether the card truly deserved a PSA 10 grade and about its previous ties to the now-defunct Liquid Marketplace.

Paul addressed the claims in a Feb. 16 post on X, and when reached for comment his team pointed reporters to that post. Some critics say the card was previously graded lower and cite a small chip and centering issues; PokeBeach reported that the card had been graded PSA 9 several times in the past.

The record is complicated: Paul bought a PSA 9 version in June 2021 for $1.275 million, then in July 2021 acquired the PSA 10 after a trade that included the PSA 9 plus $4 million and paid $5.275 million in that private sale.

logan paul, pikachu illustrator, psa 10, psa 9, goldin auction, liquid marketplace, trading card, pokebeach, 16.49m, centering issues