JORDAN Blecher fell to his knees in pure and utter disbelief.
The Miami-based Pokémon expert, who swapped his career as a mortgage advisor to concentrate on unearthing valuable collectibles, had just struck a deal with a former employee of the Washington State company who made the cards.
Jordan Blecher used to be a mortgage advisor but now sells and deals Pokémon cards for a living – and owns one of the rarest cards in the world
Legendary Pokémon artist Ken Sugimori rarely signs cards and is a virtual recluse in his native Japan making Blecher’s card all the more valuable
The Blastoise card on the right is signed by Ken Sugimori and could be worth a hefty six-figure sum
Blecher said there were “tens of thousands” of Pokémons in the consignment, which he was more than happy with.
He says the industry is “hotter than ever,” and his purchase would help him bring in some big bucks for his Magic City Hobbies business back in South Florida.
But the seller left him a little surprise underneath a mountain of product that was a serious game-changer with the explosive potential of becoming the envy of the Pokémon collecting world.
Unbeknownst to him, a super-rare, hand-sketched, and signed card was part of the deal.
The seller had told Belcher a year earlier that, if there was one card he wouldn’t sell, it would be his prized Blastoise card, signed by the legendary Pokémon artist Ken Sugimori.
Yet, after inviting him into his home to pore over the collection he was about to hand over, there it was, in all its unique glory.
“I’m normally a pretty calm and cool customer, but I couldn’t help but fall on my knees when I saw the card,” Blecher told The U.S. Sun with a massive smile at the Florida Supercon in Miami Beach.
“He was right there watching me as the whole thing unfolded. It’s one of those cards that I would never see again. I had to take it home.”
With Sugimori a virtual recluse living in Japan, there is literally nothing like this on the market which ramps the value up considerably.
Factor in that he’s also bound by contract with the Pokémon company to no longer do signings under their umbrella, and the numbers involved skyrocket.
“Blastoise is one of the five most iconic characters of the original set of 151 characters by the most iconic artist in the hobby that’s responsible for the original illustrations,” Blecher added.
He quickly got the card graded, and the results confirmed his wildest dreams.
It came back flawless – both for the signature and the sketch – to leave the Miami-based collector in possession of a truly “one of a kind” card.
He has already had offers of around $30,000 but, especially with Sugimori’s signature included, Blecher believes he could get a substantial six-figure sum – if he was willing to sell his pride and joy in the first place.
“Everything does have a price,” Blecher admitted.,
“But it would take something really, really serious to even have me think about it. It’s one of the rarest cards around.”
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