What started as a routine cleanout in a Dorset attic ended with a fully paid-for wedding, after a long-forgotten collection of Pokémon cards turned out to be worth much more than expected.
A routine attic find turns into something else
Teaching assistant Andrew Braund, 37, came across his childhood Pokémon card collection while cleaning out his old stuff at his parents’ house. He collected cards between the ages of eight and 15, and by his own description most of them showed normal signs of use, being “quite cute and lovely,” which is why he did not expect them to have any real value. Thinking the collection could fetch around £500, he took it to a friend who runs a trading card shop for a second opinion. That hope quickly changed. “My friend approached the last tin, looked at them and asked me to sit down,” Braund said, describing the moment he realized something was different.
Three unseen cards change everything
The value was not in the bulk of the collection, but in three Charizard cards, which were not even organized properly in his binders.“When my friend told me how much Charizard cards could cost, I was pretty upset,” Braund said. “Frankly, I almost had a panic attack,” he said daily Journal Informed. Those cards, initially valued at around $20,000, were later sent to an Ivebank auction, where the end result far exceeded initial expectations.
Among the items recovered, a mint-condition Charizard and two others funded a Dorset man’s wedding following auction success/SWNS
The three cards sold for a combined £32,800 (about $41,000), with individual sales reaching £17,000, £13,000 and £2,800. One of them, a mint-condition Skyridge Charizard Holo, set a Pokémon sales record at the auction house, selling for $21,250 despite having a low price prior to the sale. daily Journal.
Emotions and values don’t always match
Braund said that the cards that had the highest value were not the ones he cared for the most as a child. “I didn’t expect them to be so valuable,” he said, adding that the valuable cards came from one of the last packs he purchased. “They have the highest monetary value, but the lowest sentimental value. The ones I used to like as a kid look worn out because they’re in my pocket all the time.” The contradiction between status and attachment, which is common in collectibles, eventually worked in his favor.
Wedding plans reshaped by unexpected windfall
The proceeds have gone straight towards his upcoming wedding to his fiancée Rachel Moseley, which is scheduled to take place in August. “I’ve been totally lucky,” Braund said. She further added that she is no longer “worried about where the money for the wedding will come from.” He was at work when the auction was taking place, receiving updates as bids came in and described the final total as “mind boggling”. The couple, who are both neurodivergent, are now also considering a honeymoon, with their plans including a quiet week in Devon.
