A retired decorator from Woking has discovered that the Pokémon card sets he kept in his attic could sell for up to £270,000 at auction. Auctioneers from Ewbank's were surprised by the condition and value of the 42 complete sets, with some individual cards potentially fetching as much as £40,000. The collector purchased these sets in the late 1990s as an investment when his son was interested in Pokémon cards, but his son eventually lost interest, leaving the cards untouched until now.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-13,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A retired decorator from Woking stored 42 sets of Pokémon cards in his attic after his son lost interest in the hobby during the late 1990s. The cards, which were kept sealed and in "mint condition," recently came to the attention of Ewbank's Auctions' house in Surrey when the owner took a sample set for valuation. Auctioneers estimated that these rare collectibles could sell for over £270,000 at an upcoming auction later this month. The man had no idea about their potential value until he heard reports of individual cards selling for up to £6,000.
Written for “Pokémon Card Auction” on 2026-10-13,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
A retired decorator has been told the Pokémon cards he kept in his attic could sell for £270,000.
uncertain
he → tell → 270,000
Auctioneers said their jaws 'hit the floor' when they laid eyes on the 42 sets of collectables - 'all in mint condition'.
asserted
all → say → condition
After hearing reports of a single card selling for £6,000 the man, from Woking, who did not want to be named, took a sample of several of his own cards to Ewbank's Auctions' house in Surrey.
asserted
who → hear → Surrey
His sets were described as 'highly valuable' – with the house's head of trading cards James Spooner estimating they could sell for more than a quarter of a million pounds later this month.
uncertain
they → describe → pounds
Mr Spooner said: 'When we saw what he had - all in mint condition - we couldn't believe it, or the fact that he had no idea what they were worth.
asserted
they → say → what
When we then discovered that he had 42 such sets, our jaws hit the floor.'
asserted
jaws → discover → floor
The collector added: 'When my son was young, in the late 1990s, he started getting cards and swapping them at school.
asserted
he → add → school
I thought they looked nice and wondered whether they might be a good investment.
uncertain
they → think → ?
I was lucky enough to find someone in Malaysia who sold complete sets, and I bought a couple of things from them on eBay.
asserted
I → find → eBay
They then asked me if I would be interested in buying a complete master set of Pokémon cards as they had about two or three master sets for each issue.
asserted
they → ask → issue
'I thought that it would be cheaper to buy the full set rather than keep buying sealed packs of random cards in hope that when you opened them you could complete a set.
uncertain
you → think → set
Head of Ewbank's Auctioneers, Andrew Ewbank (L) and head of trading cards, James Spooner (R) are pictured
'
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Head → picture → cards
The first set I bought cost me around £300.
asserted
I → buy → 300
It's the Sky Ridge Charizard set and Ewbank's have estimated it for the sale at £20,000 to £40,000.
asserted
Ewbank → estimate → 40,000
Ewbank's has been staging dedicated auctions for trading cards for five years – racking up sales totalling more than £1.1million.
asserted
Ewbank → stag → 1.1million
But Mr Spooner said: 'Even with that, this is easily the most valuable collection we have handled so far, and it could go as high as around £270,000 hammer.'
uncertain
it → say → hammer
The cards, which were all carefully inserted in the bespoke Pokémon binders while still sealed and in 'mint condition', come to auction as new having been stored in the attic after the owner's son lost interest in Pokémon.
asserted
son → insert → Pokémon
The collector added: 'He had his own cards, but he never got to touch these, I'm glad to say.
'
asserted
I → add → these
I know people always talk about finding treasure in the attic, but in my case that is literally true.
asserted
that → know → case
I had no idea what I had until the team at Ewbank's explained it to me.'
asserted
team → have → me
In April this year, teacher Andrew Braund approached Ewbank's with a 20-year-old collection of Pokémon cards he had kept in his parents' attic.
asserted
he → approach → attic
He consigned the three rarest cards to Ewbank's who took £32,800 for them on April 16, with Mr Braund using the proceeds to pay for his August wedding.
asserted
Braund → consign → wedding
Bidding is currently live on the recently discovered collection, titled Pokémon: A Decade of Masters (1999-2009), which will be offered on October 21.
asserted
which → discover → October
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