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Rayquaza Gold Star Becomes the First English Pokemon Card to Sell for $1 Million
The auction we covered live now has its final number. The one of a kind CGC Pristine 10 Rayquaza Gold Star from the 2005 EX Deoxys set closed at $1,020,000 including buyer's premium in Fanatics Collect's August Premier Auction on August 28, 2026, making it the first English Pokemon card ever to sell for more than $1 million. It clears the previous English record, February 2026's $954,800 Charizard, by $65,200.
The Final Number: $1,020,000 After 35 Bids
The card entered extended bidding at the $850,000 level our live coverage caught, and the closing stretch added another $170,000. It took 35 bids to push the CGC Pristine 10 2005 Pokemon EX Deoxys Holo Rayquaza Gold Star #107 to its $1,020,000 final price, buyer's premium included. Fanatics Collect closed the sale on August 28, 2026, and as of August 31 the result stands, no restatement, no dispute, no buyer reveal.
The previous English benchmark was the $954,800 PSA 10 First Edition Base Set Charizard from Logan Paul's 2021 box break, sold at Goldin on February 16, 2026. The Rayquaza cleared it by $65,200, and Dexerto and Gamerant both independently confirmed the record.
Why This Copy: The Only Pristine 10 in Existence
Grading is the whole story here. CGC has graded more than 250 copies of the Gold Star Rayquaza, only 12 of them earned Gem Mint 10, and exactly one sits at Pristine 10, this one. There is no Pristine 10 equivalent in the BGS or TAG registries either, which is why Fanatics Collect called it "the single greatest copy" of the card.
The card was a chase long before any slab entered the picture. Gold Stars appeared in roughly one in every 72 packs of the 2005 EX Deoxys set, the Rayquaza carries artwork by Masakazu Fukuda, and two decades of shuffling and binder storage have thinned the surviving mint pool. Our guide on how to verify a graded card shows the registry lookups that make population claims like these checkable.
The Grade Premium: More Than 6x in Six Weeks
The cleanest data point in this sale is the gap between grades. A CGC Gem Mint 10 copy of the same card sold for $168,000 on July 19, 2026. Six weeks later the Pristine 10 brought more than six times that. Same card, same set, one step apart on the label, an $852,000 difference at the register.
The record did not land in a quiet market either. Fanatics weekly auctions moved $496,200 across six Rayquaza cards on August 15, 2026 and $369,000 across five Gold Star lots on August 22, 2026, so the million dollar close capped a month long Rayquaza run rather than appearing out of nowhere. That context cuts both ways, a hot bidding month can stretch a one of one result past what a cold market would pay.
What It Means for Collectors
An English card over $1 million is a psychological line more than an economic one. The Pikachu Illustrator still towers over everything in our rarest Pokemon cards ranking, and across hobbies the Rayquaza sits well down our most expensive trading cards list. What is genuinely new is proof that a 2005 EX era card, not a 1999 Base Set icon, can carry seven figures when population and grade line up.
Now the honest caveats. This is one sale of a one of one card. It says little about your Gem Mint copy, a $168,000 card as of July 2026, and even less about raw copies. Populations move as more cards get graded, and a premium this steep depends on the single copy staying single. Treat the number as a milestone for the hobby, not a forecast for your collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did the Rayquaza Gold Star sell for?
The CGC Pristine 10 Rayquaza Gold Star from the 2005 EX Deoxys set sold for $1,020,000 including buyer's premium in Fanatics Collect's August Premier Auction, which closed on August 28, 2026 after 35 bids.
Is this the most expensive English Pokemon card ever sold?
Yes. It is the first English language Pokemon card to clear $1 million, beating the $954,800 paid for a PSA 10 First Edition Base Set Charizard at Goldin on February 16, 2026 by $65,200.
Why is this copy worth so much more than other Rayquaza Gold Stars?
It is the only copy ever graded CGC Pristine 10. CGC has graded more than 250 copies and only 12 reached Gem Mint 10, and a Gem Mint 10 sold for $168,000 on July 19, 2026, about a sixth of what the Pristine 10 brought.
Where to Go From Here
Record sales live at the very top of the market, the fun for most collectors happens well below them. If watching a Gold Star clear a million made you want to chase a hit of your own, 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.
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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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