Unopened 1952 Topps brick sets pace at £814,000 as CGC logs twin seven-figure Pokémon sales

The week’s headline figure came from Robert Edward Auctions, which reported that a 1952 Topps unopened “brick” sold for £814,000 ($1.1 Million) at its summer auction on 17 August 2026, described by the house as leading a record-setting sale. Alongside it, CGC reported two separate seven-figure results for certified Pokémon cards changing hands in private sales, and SCP Auctions recorded a six-figure price for a graded Michael Jordan rookie card. Figures below are given in sterling first, using £1 = $1.35 (ECB, 11 September 2026), followed by the reported dollar figure exactly as published.

£814,000 ($1.1 Million): 1952 Topps unopened brick, Robert Edward Auctions

Robert Edward Auctions reported that an unopened brick of 1952 Topps baseball cards sold for £814,000 ($1.1 Million) at its summer auction, concluding 17 August 2026. REA’s own reporting described the result as the top lot of what it called a record-setting sale. No further detail on buyer, lot composition beyond “unopened brick”, or fee treatment was included in the source material.

£740,000 ($1 Million): CGC-certified “Ivy” Pikachu, private sale

CGC reported on 2 September 2026 that a CGC-certified “Ivy” Pikachu card sold for more than £740,000 ($1 Million) in a private sale. This is, per CGC’s own framing, “another” such card to clear seven figures, implying prior comparable sales, though CGC’s report does not itemise those earlier results. No auction house, date of sale, or premium detail beyond CGC’s grading attribution was given.

£740,000 ($1 Million): CGC-certified Rayquaza Gold Star

In a separate report also dated 2 September 2026, CGC said a CGC-certified Rayquaza Gold Star card realised more than £740,000 ($1 Million). CGC’s coverage frames this alongside the Ivy Pikachu result as part of a run of high-value certified Pokémon sales it has been tracking, though the two are reported as distinct transactions rather than a single sale. As with the Pikachu figure, no buyer, venue, or premium information accompanied the report.

Also sold

SCP Auctions recorded the sale of a 1986 Fleer #57 Michael Jordan card, graded PSA Gem Mint 10, for £267,000 ($360,000). The result was logged by SCP with a timestamp of 26 July 2026. No further detail on the auction format or fees was included in the source.

What it tells us

Taken together, this week’s reported figures span two quite different corners of the hobby: sealed vintage paper on one side, and individually certified modern Pokémon rarities on the other, with a graded basketball rookie sitting between them in value. The REA brick result stands out simply because unopened material from the 1952 Topps set is scarce by nature, and a six-figure-sterling outcome for a single unopened brick underlines how tightly that supply is held. The two CGC-reported Pokémon sales, both landing at the same reported £740,000 ($1 Million) mark within days of each other, suggest that demand for top-certified examples of these specific cards is not a one-off but a recurring pattern, at least as CGC itself is choosing to report it.

It’s worth being precise about what these figures do and don’t show. Three of the four sales here were private transactions reported by a grading company rather than by an auction house running a public sale, so there is no lot description, bidder count, or fee structure to compare them against. The REA and SCP results come from auction settings, but even there the source material doesn’t specify whether the reported price includes buyer’s premium. None of this diminishes the figures as reported, but it does mean the comparisons between them - vintage sealed product, certified trading cards, and a graded sports rookie - are more illustrative of activity across categories than a like-for-like read on where any single market is heading.

Sterling converted from the reported figures at £1 = $1.35 (ECB reference rate, 2026-09-11) and rounded. Figures are as reported by the selling house or grader.