On August 20 we charted the three 2026 sales of the 1998 Pikachu Illustrator and called the missing rungs. One of them has filled in.
| Grade | Price | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| PSA 10 | $16,500,000 | Goldin (Logan Paul's copy) | February 16 |
| PSA 9 | $2,700,000 | Private sale | August 31 |
| BGS 9 | $2,000,000 | Private sale | July 25 |
| BGS 8.5 | $1,006,500 | Goldin | August 15 |
The 9 rung
Two 9s, two labels, five weeks apart, 35 percent apart. Some of that gap is the market: between July 25 and August 31 the Illustrator 8.5 cleared a million, the Snap starters cleared half a million each, and the Rayquaza Gold Star cleared a million, all of which lifted the comps for the 9. Some of it is the label: at the very top of the hobby PSA's population report is the reference everyone quotes, and a PSA 9 (fifteen exist) is the grade collectors mean when they say "a 9 Illustrator." A BGS 9 is a fine card with a less liquid buyer pool. A 20 to 35 percent PSA premium at this level is consistent with what the market has paid elsewhere this year.
The 10 rung
From the 9 to the 10 is six times, and that step is still the unique-object premium rather than a condition premium: one PSA 10 exists, and its price is set by whoever wants to own the single best copy of the most famous card in the hobby. Nothing in the 9's price tells you much about it, and nothing in its price tells you much about the 9.
The missing rungs
Still no public sale of a 7 or an 8 this year. Those are the grades most of the roughly forty known Illustrators sit in, and their owners have watched the 8.5 go to a million and the 9 to $2.7 million. The next public 8 is the data point the market most wants, and given the two rungs on either side, a result under $800,000 would be a surprise.
Sources: SI Collectibles, September 7, 2026; SI Collectibles, August 17; SI Collectibles, July 27.
Chart of the Day ran in The Pack Report, September 7, 2026: A $2.7 Million Illustrator, and a $204,000 Palkia. Published by Rip Station.