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Goldin's $18M Summer TCG Auction: $809,943 Snap Bulbasaur and One Piece's First $700K Card
Goldin's Summer TCG Elite Auction closed over the weekend of August 9 to 10, 2026, and the final tally topped $18 million with six all-time record sales. The headline number belongs to a PSA 8 1999 CoroCoro Best Photo "Snap" Bulbasaur that sold for $809,943, the most ever paid for any Bulbasaur card and more than $600,000 clear of the previous mark. One Piece got its milestone too, a one-of-one Monkey D. Luffy trophy card that closed at $713,700 including buyer's premium, the first One Piece card to break $700,000 in a public sale.
Inside Goldin's $18 Million Summer TCG Elite Auction
Per Goldin's recap, covered widely between August 12 and 15, the sale generated over $18 million with 13 lots clearing $100,000, and ICv2 counted six lots that each broke $500,000. Totals like that used to belong to vintage sports cards, the kind of sales we track in our ranking of the most expensive trading cards ever sold. This time, five of the six half-million-dollar lots were Pokemon promos and a One Piece trophy card.
The Snap Starters Rewrite the Pokemon Record Book
The stars were the 1999 Japanese "Best Photo" promos, the so-called Snap cards, born from a Pokemon Snap photo contest that printed winning players' N64 photos onto real cards. The record Bulbasaur has a reported worldwide population of just 20 copies, with a PSA pop of 7 at its grade.
The August 2026 results, all species records:
Snap Bulbasaur, PSA 8: $809,943, an all-time Bulbasaur record per Sports Illustrated. ICv2 lists $809,094, a small discrepancy between outlets.
Snap Charmander, PSA 8: $640,500, a record for any Charmander card.
Raichu Prerelease: $640,500, a record for any Raichu card.
Snap Squirtle: $555,100, a record for any Squirtle card.
All three original Kanto starters set new all-time highs in one weekend. For scale, our ranking of the rarest Pokemon cards tops out at the $16.49 million Pikachu Illustrator, and the Snap promos are now pushing into that list's upper tiers.
One Piece Crosses $700,000 for the First Time
The 2024 One Piece Chinese Year One World Championship 1st Place Monkey D. Luffy trophy card, a one-of-one with gold embossing presented in an 8x8 display, sold for $713,700 including buyer's premium, the highest public sale for any One Piece card. hobbyDB's August 12 roundup confirmed it as an August 10, 2026 result.
According to CGC's record tracking, the prior marks were $440,420 for a 2024 Korean Serialized Top Prize Luffy at Goldin and $315,600 for a 2023 World Championship Luffy graded CGC Pristine 10, sold at Alt in 2025. The record has now fallen twice in roughly a year, and our list of the most expensive One Piece cards needs a new number one for the second time in twelve months.
What the Results Mean for Collectors
Three takeaways the big outlets skipped. First, species records are a search event, when Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, and Raichu all reset in one weekend, every price guide built on the old numbers goes stale at once. Second, the money keeps concentrating in provably scarce cards, contest promos with populations near 20 and one-of-one trophy pieces, not high grades of widely printed sets. Third, One Piece is compounding, the top public price has jumped from $315,600 to $440,420 to $713,700 in about a year, though nothing guarantees the climb continues.
One practical note. Headline results pull fakes into every price level below them. If you are buying slabs this month, our guide on how to verify a graded card covers cert lookups and checks that take five minutes and can save you thousands.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most expensive Bulbasaur card ever sold?
A PSA 8 1999 Pokemon Japanese Promo CoroCoro Best Photo Snap Bulbasaur sold for $809,943 at Goldin's Summer TCG Elite Auction in August 2026, beating the previous Bulbasaur record by more than $600,000. Only about 20 copies are reported to exist worldwide.
What is the most expensive One Piece card ever sold?
A one-of-one 2024 One Piece Chinese Year One World Championship 1st Place Monkey D. Luffy trophy card sold for $713,700 including buyer's premium at Goldin in August 2026, the highest public sale for any One Piece card ever recorded.
What are Pokemon Snap Best Photo cards?
They are 1999 Japanese promo cards awarded through a Pokemon Snap photo contest, with winning players' N64 photos printed onto real cards. Populations are tiny, the record Bulbasaur has a reported worldwide population of 20 copies with a PSA pop of 7 at its grade.
Where to Go From Here
You do not need a trophy card budget to chase real cards. Rip packs built on real graded pulls instead, the Polkastarter marketplace shows every card, value, and chance in every Lootbox before you open, free mystery pack at signup.
Facts verified August 25, 2026 as cited, markets move, nothing here is investment advice. Polkastarter is not affiliated with the companies named.
Sources
- Action Figure Insider: $18 Million Plus in Sales Generated by Goldin's Summer TCG Auction
- Sports Illustrated: Vintage Pokemon Promo Becomes the Most Valuable Bulbasaur Card Ever
- ICv2: Goldin Summer TCG Elite Auction Rakes Over $18 Million
- GamesRadar: Original Starter Pokemon Cards Set Auction Records
- CGC Cards: Record One Piece Promo Sale
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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