Couple paying for wedding after Pokémon cards sell for over $40,000

A teaching assistant's rare Pokémon cards found in an attic after 20 years will now pay for his wedding - after selling for more than $40,000.

Ex-collector Andrew Braund found the three Pokémon cards while clearing out his childhood home in Wimborne, Dorset.

The 37-year-old brought his recovered collection to a friend's trading card store, hoping all his cards combined might be worth a few hundred dollars.

But he was shocked when his friend singled out three Charizard cards not in his organized binders - telling him they could be worth tens of thousands.

The three cards have now sold for a collective total of $41,000 at a sale by Ewbank's Auctions.

Stumbling upon the rare cards couldn't have come at a better time for Braund, who is due to marry his fiancée, Rachel Moseley, in August.

He'll now use the profits from the sale to pay for his wedding.

"I don't have to worry about where the money for the wedding is going to come from now," an elated Braund said.

"Back when I was collecting, nobody knew Pokémon would still be around 25 years later.

"I've absolutely lucked out."

Braund's mint condition Skyridge Charizard Holo Pokémon card had been tipped to sell for up to $15,000 but was sold for a massive $21,250 - a house record for a single Pokémon card at Ewbank's.

Another near-mint copy of the same card, expected to sell for as much as $12,500, went for $16,250.

And a third, Reverse-Holo of the same Charizard card that was estimated to sell for between $2,000 and $2,750 sold for $3,500.

"When my friend told me how much the Charizard cards might be worth, I got quite lightheaded," Braund, who got engaged to Moseley at last year's Chalke Valley History Festival, admitted.

"I was very big into Pokémon cards as a child... I remember them being banned at boarding school.

"When they were unbanned, everyone just pulled them out of their pockets.

"Ironically, the three Charizard cards must have been from one of the last packs I ever bought.

"They have the highest monetary value, but the lowest sentimental value. The ones I loved as a kid look worn from being in my pockets all the time."

Braund explained that his parents had asked him to clear out some of his things from the loft of his childhood home in Wimborne when he discovered his old collection.

"I didn't think they would be worth anything," he admitted.

"I was helping out at a friend's trading card shop a few days later and took my collection down.

"I was expecting the entire collection to be worth $625 or so.

"My friend told me how much these Charizards were worth and I almost had a panic attack, quite frankly.

"Those three weren't even in the binder - they were in a separate tin.

"I wasn't expecting them to be worth anything like that."

Ewbank's boss, Andrew Ewbank, said: "We have been specializing in trading cards like Pokémon and Magic The Gathering for the past five years.

"This is a double delight for us: taking a record in-house price for a single card and helping a young couple make their dreams come true."

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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 11:57 AM.