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Heritage Finals: One-of-One Sealed Mario Bros. Hits $450K, PSA 10 Pocket Monsters Ao Tops $118K
Heritage Auctions closed its August 28 to 29 Video Games Signature Auction over Pokemon Worlds weekend, and the finals blew past our live coverage. The only certified sealed first-production Mario Bros. cartridge, a PSA 9.2 A++ with the early gloss sticker, sold for $450,000 on August 28, 2026, a 3.3x jump from the $135,000 we tracked in live bidding. One lot over sat the Pokemon result of the weekend, a PSA 10 unopened Pocket Monsters Ao that by our math closed at $118,750.
A One-of-One Mario Bros. Finishes at $450,000
Lot 28024 was the sale Heritage built the weekend around, the only certified sealed example of the gloss-sticker first-production variant in existence, and the first factory-sealed first-production copy ever offered at public auction. After 26 bids and registered phone bidders, it closed on August 28, 2026 at $450,000, a figure ComicBook.com confirmed in its post-auction report.
For scale, the sealed Super Mario Bros. record is still the $3,000,000 Heritage result from June 2026, so this is the second-priciest Mario cartridge sale of the year and a new entry near the top of the all-time video game price ladder.
Pocket Monsters Ao Goes Six Figures on Worlds Weekend
The Pokemon story hid at Lot 28056, a PSA 10 NS unopened Pocket Monsters Ao, the 1996 Japanese Game Boy release in its Store UPC later-production box. It hammered on the Friday night of Worlds weekend, August 28, 2026, drawing 50 bids while the competitive scene was busy in San Francisco.
Here is the honest math. Heritage gates the exact sold price behind a free sign-in, but we tracked the hammer at $95,000, the auction carried a 25 percent buyer's premium, and $95,000 times 1.25 is exactly $118,750. The lot's public make-offer floor of $148,438, live as of August 31, 2026, is exactly 1.25 times that. So treat $118,750 as our derived number, not a Heritage-published one, the two checks just agree to the dollar.
A sealed PSA 10 copy of the game that started Pokemon now belongs in the same conversation as the grails on our rarest Pokemon cards ranking.
Scarcity Beat Grade Across the Whole Sale
The same sale stacked up more sealed Super Mario Bros. copies, and the spread is the lesson. All three results are from the August 28 to 29, 2026 auction, per ComicBook.com.
PSA 9.6, last production: $42,500
PSA 9.0, mid production, six copies known: $37,500
PSA 7.5, first production with matte sticker: $31,250
The one-of-one gloss-sticker Mario Bros. outran all of them by 10x or more, higher grades included, and ComicBook.com drew the same conclusion, census mattered more than the number on the slab. When one certified example exists, the population report is the price, which is why reading what a slab actually says matters, our guide to verifying a graded card covers the steps.
What It Means for Collectors
Three quick reads. First, the aftermarket is live. As of August 31, 2026 the Ao lot sits in make-offer mode at $148,438 with the owner reviewing offers, while the Mario Bros. lot is not taking offers.
Second, supply is coming. Heritage lists a second sealed Ao, a VGA 90 of the same Store UPC later-production variant, with bidding opening around September 10, 2026 in weekly Auction 44350. A June 24, 2026 ComicBook.com piece covered a VGA 90 Ao with bidding at just $5,125, so September will show whether $118,750 is an Ao price or a PSA 10 price.
Third, keep the caveat. A one-of-one result is a census event, not a repeatable comp, the same dynamic behind the biggest numbers on our most expensive trading cards list.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did the sealed Mario Bros. sell for at Heritage?
The only certified sealed first-production Mario Bros., a PSA 9.2 A++ with the early gloss sticker, sold for $450,000 on August 28, 2026 in Heritage Signature Auction 7454, second among 2026 Mario cartridge sales only to the $3,000,000 sealed Super Mario Bros. from June.
What did the PSA 10 Pocket Monsters Ao actually sell for?
Heritage shows the exact price only behind a free sign-in. The $95,000 hammer we tracked plus the 25 percent buyer premium works out to $118,750, and the public make-offer floor of $148,438 is exactly 1.25 times that figure.
Is another sealed Pocket Monsters Ao coming to auction?
Yes. Heritage lists a VGA 90 copy of the same Store UPC later-production variant, with bidding opening around September 10, 2026 in weekly Auction 44350. Its result will show how much of the August number was the PSA 10 premium.
Where to Go From Here
Every record here started as sealed product somebody refused to open. If you want the chase with the math in plain sight, the Polkastarter marketplace shows every card, value, and chance in every Lootbox before you open, free mystery pack at signup.
Facts verified August 31, 2026 as cited, markets move, nothing here is investment advice. Polkastarter is not affiliated with the companies named.
Sources
- ComicBook.com: the only known sealed first-production Mario Bros. just sold at auction
- Heritage Auctions Lot 28024: Mario Bros. PSA 9.2 A++ Sealed, Gloss Sticker, First Production
- Heritage Auctions Lot 28056: Pocket Monsters Ao PSA 10 NS Unopened, Store UPC, Later Production
- Heritage Auctions press release: sealed Super Mario Bros. sells for a record $3 million
Iggy is a Web3 content strategist and writer with over 8 years of experience in the crypto space. She spent 4 years at TokenSuite, a leading Web3 marketing agency, where she produced content across 200+ projects including Biconomy and Natix Network, helping teams communicate complex blockchain concepts clearly and build engaged communities at scale.
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