Jon Free of Great Blakenham finds rare Pokémon card which could sell for £40k

A single Pokémon trading card hailed as one of the rarest in the world could sell at auction for as much as £40,000.

Jon Free, 32, of Great Blakenham, between Needham Market and Ipswich, is one of the world’s largest collectors of fourth print Pokémon cards and has carefully built up his collection over a number of years.

During that time, he managed to get his hands on the highest ever graded BGS fourth print 'Charizard' in existence described as the 'most iconic card ever made'.

He has now decided to sell the ultra-rare trophy card at auction where it has been guided to fetch between £8,000-£12,000 - but it could sell for thousands more.

A similar card exchanged hands previously after being sold privately for more than £40,000 and Jon's card is said to be the best example of its kind in the world.

Jon said: "The fourth print for 1999-2000 Base Set was printed due to copyright issues around the turn of millennium.

“Non-holo fourth print cards were printed worldwide however the holographic cards were only printed in the UK for around two weeks.

“It is worth noting that the Charizard fourth print holo is the only holo card to exhibit slightly altered artwork, with the black stripes behind the Charizard being changed to red – you can compare this to regular unlimited Charizards to see the difference.

“So this is literally the rarest print run of the most well-known set in the world.

"It is estimated that the first edition print run was over five times larger than the fourth print.

“I’m sad to see this particular card go but sometimes life has to take priority."

Experts say a fourth print Charizard card a rarity in itself in the Pokémon world due to its scarce print run.

All fourth print Pokémon boxes and packets from the USA and Australia contain only unlimited holo cards, so fourth print holos are only found in some UK boxes or packs.

Even then it is estimated that only around 20 per cent of UK boxes contain them, making the card the rarest print run of the Base Set.

Jon added: “This can be seen in population reports with there being 484 total fourth print PSA-graded Charizards against 4,229 total first edition Charizards."

The card has been graded 9 by the Beckett Grading Services and has three sub-grades at 9.5 for centering, corners and surface – higher than any other fourth print Charizard in the world.

And it has potential to cross over to a grade 10 with PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) and the last PSA 10 of this card to exchange hands sold for £40,000.

It will go under the hammer at Richard Winterton Auctioneers in Lichfield, Staffs., on September 30.

Jon said: “This particular card is the highest grade Beckett fourth print as it has much higher sub-grades than the other two grade 9s.

“It is an extremely good candidate for a PSA 10 crossover, however I believe that it holds more prestige being the highest Beckett.

“Beckett are known to grade more harshly than PSA and because of this there are no BGS 9.5 or 10s in existence.

“There are six recognised PSA 10 fourth print Charizards and around four other PSA 10 Charizards from before they recognised it as a separate print run.

“But the last PSA 10 to exchange hands went for more than £40,000. High end copies are near impossible to own.

“So all in all, this card is a piece of Pokémon history and a niche gem of the most iconic card ever made.

“An absolute must for any serious collector, and a trophy card as the highest Beckett in the world.”

Auctioneer Richard Winterton said: “We are inundated with emails and calls from people wanting to auction their Pokémon, which remains a seriously hot market internationally.

“It’s a privilege to be auctioning Jon’s card, the highest grade Beckett fourth print Charizard in the world, from our base in Lichfield.

“This is the highest value single Pokémon card entrusted to us and we are anticipating a huge amount of interest from all over the globe."