| RECON // NEWSLETTER NO. 001 |
THU OCT 8, 2026 |
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COLLECTOR RECON NEWSLETTER |
Know the market. Collect with conviction.
TCG · VIDEO GAMES · ANIME
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| THE LEAD // FILE 001-A |
PRE-BID |
 | | IMAGE: GOLDIN |
One copy. Seven figures. Auction not open yet.
| GRADE | PSA 8 |
| VENUE | GOLDIN · CLOSES OCT 25 |
| PSA CENSUS | 1 COPY |
$1M+ PRE-BIDS INCL. BP · OCT 7
Pre-bids on the PSA 8 1997 First Place First Tournament Trophy Pikachu are over $1M ahead of Goldin’s Oct 15 open. ICv2 reports it is the only copy in PSA’s census, so there’s no 9 or 10 to trade up to and no second comp. Every bid is on the card’s existence, not its condition.
SOURCE: ICV2 · OCT 7, 2026 |
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| BIG SALES |
RECENT COMPS · LAST 90 DAYS |
Torchic Gold Star (Team Rocket Returns)
TCG · PSA 10 · ALT · AUG 28–SEPT 10 |
$2.7M |
Charizard Gold Star (Dragon Frontiers)
TCG · PSA 10 · ALT · AUG 28–SEPT 10 |
$393,000 |
Team Aqua’s Kyogre EX (Double Crisis)
TCG · PSA 10 · ALT · AUG 28–SEPT 10 |
$348,000 |
Snorlax Lv.X (Rising Rivals)
TCG · PSA 10 · ALT · AUG 28–SEPT 10 |
$253,680 |
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THIS WEEK
Christie’s anime & manga, round two
About 130 lots go online Oct 9–22, estimated $344,350–$523,200, after a March debut that made $1.4M, more than 4x its low estimate. Production cels from Akira and Dragon Ball Z carry $5,000–7,000 estimates. The tell: whether the cels, not the fine art, clear their estimates.
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VERIFIED INTEL
Delta Reign lands Nov 6
Pokémon Center opened preorders 37 days out, the same lead as Pitch Black, with limits of 2/1/1 on the ETB, bundle and booster box. One-per-customer caps on the box mean the official store is rationing supply. Where sealed settles shows up in the two weeks after release.
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| Video Games |
Grail check: a sealed Super Mario Bros. (PSA 9.6 A++, 2nd production, gloss sticker) made $3M at Heritage in June, the record for any video game. The prior high was a $2M private sale in 2021. (Heritage Intelligent Collector, June 16) |
| TCG |
The W Stamped Pikachu promo rose $71.50 in 30 days to a $248.26 market price (Near Mint, Sept 5 to Oct 4). TCGplayer ties it to the 30th Celebration redraw of the Jungle Pikachu art it shares. (TCGplayer, Oct 7) |
| TCG |
Magic brings back God Packs in 2027 with Nauctis: The Sunken Realm: 1 in 1,000 boosters, 1 in 300 Collector Boosters. Play Boosters are being retired. (ICv2, Oct 6) |
| Cross |
A Pikachu ex and a Minior card flew to the ISS with ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot. No plan to sell or grade them has been announced. (PokeBeach, Oct 6) |
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| UPCOMING RELEASES |
DROP DATES |
| OCT 17 |
Santa Cruz x Pokémon TCG skateboards (blind bags) |
~$110 EXPECTED |
| NOV 6 |
Delta Reign (Pokémon TCG, English) |
SEE BIG NEWS |
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FIELD NOTE
Scarcity is writing the checks. Sometimes over the character.
Torchic outsold Charizard nearly 7 to 1 in PSA 10 at Alt last month. This month a PSA 8 Trophy Pikachu passed $1M in pre-bids because it’s the only one PSA has graded. Character still sells cards, but at the top of this market, scarcity can overpower character popularity, and even grade.
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Disclosure: Collector Recon doesn’t own the items featured and isn’t paid by auction houses or brands for coverage. Figures are from the sources named, checked the day they were reported; not investment advice. You’re receiving this because you subscribed at Collector Recon.
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