A Swiss millionaire’s daughter is considering selling what may be the world’s most valuable Pokemon card collection after the family revealed it had become too valuable to keep at home.
The extraordinary hoard has surfaced in Switzerland, where 20-year-old Jolina Gisele has become the public face of a collection that began as a childhood hobby and grew into a potential GBP 50 million fortune.
Picture shows Jolina Gisele with her card collection, undated. She wants to sell the world’s “largest and most expensive” Pokemon collection. Note: Permission obtained for photo. (Jolina Gisele Team/Newsflash/NX)
The collection includes more than 60,000 cards, many of them extremely rare and in pristine condition.
Some are said to be unique, while around 12,000 have already been graded by Professional Sports Authenticator, the company that authenticates and grades trading cards.
The family has not disclosed the value of the collection, but experts believe it could be worth tens of millions.
Professional Pokemon card trader Thomas Kovacs, owner of Amazingtoys, has reportedly said the collection could be worth well over GBP 50 million.
Some individual cards in the collection are believed to be worth more than GBP 1 million.
Picture shows part of the Jolina Gisele card collection, undated. She wants to sell the world’s “largest and most expensive” Pokemon collection. Note: Permission obtained for photo. (Jolina Gisele Team/Newsflash/NX)
The collection could also be larger than the current Guinness World Record Pokemon card collection, which contains 48,339 cards and is held by Essex brothers Owen and Conner Grey.
The cards include two highly graded Pikachu Illustrator cards, one of the most sought-after Pokemon cards in the world.
A similar card with a grade of nine was sold by the US auction house Heritage for USD 1.4 million (GBP 1.05 million) at the end of March.
Another Pikachu Illustrator card with a perfect PSA 10 grade was reportedly sold earlier this year for USD 16.5 million (GBP 12.3 million).
Picture shows Jolina Gisele with her card collection, undated. She wants to sell the world’s “largest and most expensive” Pokemon collection. Note: Permission obtained for photo. (Jolina Gisele Team/Newsflash/NX)
The buyer was reported to be AJ Scaramucci, son of Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House communications director under Donald Trump.
But Jolina’s collection is not only about headline-grabbing cards.
It is also said to include gold, silver and bronze Pikachu trophy cards awarded at a Japanese tournament in 1997, three rare Super Secret Battle cards from Japanese tournaments in 1999, and five University Magikarp cards.
Picture shows part of the Jolina Gisele card collection, undated. She wants to sell the world’s “largest and most expensive” Pokemon collection. Note: Permission obtained for photo. (Jolina Gisele Team/Newsflash/NX)
A digitised part of the collection reportedly contains at least 12,040 cards, including 180 Mews and Mewtwos, 208 Charizards and 260 Pikachus.
Most of those cards are said to be kept in individual plastic boxes labelled with their date and origin.
Picture shows Jolina Gisele with her card collection, undated. She wants to sell the world’s “largest and most expensive” Pokemon collection. Note: Permission obtained for photo. (Jolina Gisele Team/Newsflash/NX)
Jolina began collecting with her father in 2013, when she was around seven years old and still in primary school.
Her family said she was introverted as a child and struggled to make new friends.
At first, classmates, mostly boys, are said to have mocked her collection.
But the cards later helped her make friends and gave her a shared passion with her father.
The family said the hobby began to grow after Jolina asked him: “Dad, can you buy all Pokemon cards?”
Picture shows part of the Jolina Gisele card collection, undated. She wants to sell the world’s “largest and most expensive” Pokemon collection. Note: Permission obtained for photo. (Jolina Gisele Team/Newsflash/NX)
Her father, an entrepreneur who reportedly made his fortune through IT start-ups, became fascinated by the question.
He began building contacts with other collectors, especially in Japan, where some of the rarest and most sought-after Pokemon cards were originally released.
Picture shows Jolina Gisele with her card collection, undated. She wants to sell the world’s “largest and most expensive” Pokemon collection. Note: Permission obtained for photo. (Jolina Gisele Team/Newsflash/NX)
He said: “What I was looking for didn’t interest anyone at the time.
“Even now, I have cards that probably no one but me cares about.”
What began as a way of helping his daughter soon became a serious collecting mission.
The pair started searching online and through specialist contacts for rarer and better-quality cards.
Picture shows Jolina Gisele with her card collection, undated. She wants to sell the world’s “largest and most expensive” Pokemon collection. Note: Permission obtained for photo. (Jolina Gisele Team/Newsflash/NX)
They focused heavily on cards graded PSA 10, the highest possible rating, but Jolina’s father said they were not simply chasing the most expensive examples.
He said they wanted full sets and cards that told part of Pokemon’s history.
The family said a large proportion of their graded cards received the top PSA 10 grade.
The timing proved remarkable.
Pokemon card collecting exploded during the pandemic, when high-profile buyers and influencers helped turn a once-niche childhood hobby into a market where rare cards could sell for huge sums.
Collectors around the world began searching attics, basements and forgotten childhood binders for cards that might suddenly be worth a fortune.
Professional Sports Authenticator was reportedly so overwhelmed by the boom that it paused operations for three months because of the number of cards being submitted.
Even now, collectors can face long waits to have cards officially graded.
But Jolina’s father said the surge also made the hobby less enjoyable.
He said: “As a collector, this situation is bad.
“The hobby has become more expensive.”
The family said he stopped actively collecting a few years ago.
He also said the family never played Pokemon competitively and were drawn to the cards as collectors rather than players.
He said: “I know how the game works, but I don’t play.
“My passion is collecting.”
He added: “The cards just look cool.
“You either fall in love with them or you don’t.”
The collection has now become a burden as well as a passion.
Jolina’s mother said: “The cards took up an entire room.”
For security reasons, the family has moved the collection to a professional external storage site that has not been disclosed.
The move was reportedly complex and costly, with the cards now kept in a secure location that even journalists who met the family were not allowed to visit.
The collection is also said to be insured.
The security concerns come amid a rise in Pokemon card thefts around the world.
In France, Pokemon cards worth EUR 300,000 (GBP 261,135) were reportedly stolen in an armed robbery in April.
Thefts from card shops and storage facilities have also been reported in other countries, especially in the United States.
Picture shows Jolina Gisele with her card collection, undated. She wants to sell the world’s “largest and most expensive” Pokemon collection. Note: Permission obtained for photo. (Jolina Gisele Team/Newsflash/NX)
The family now wants to sell the collection as a whole rather than break it up.
Jolina’s father said: “It belongs together.
“We would be very happy if someone could turn it into a museum so that these historic cards can be seen by everyone.”
The family has already received several serious offers, but says it does not want to rush a sale.
Several interested buyers are said to want to move quickly because of the upward trend in the Pokemon card market.
The timing also coincides with the 30th anniversary of the first Pokemon video games.
Jolina, who is currently finishing her final high school exams, is said to be less interested in Pokemon than she once was.
Her parents are also reportedly unsure whether she should remain in the public eye while she focuses on her exams.
But her childhood binders will not be included in any sale.
Her father said: “We will definitely not sell those.”
He is also expected to keep one or two cards as mementoes if the collection is sold.
(Mike Leidig/Newsflash)
