Antiques Roadshow US recently featured a surprising appraisal of a guest’s Pokémon card collection. The collector, who had initially thought her set of Pokémon cards was worth only about £40, was in for a shock when expert Travis Landry revealed the true value of her collection.

The guest shared that her mother had purchased the binder of Pokémon cards for about $35 in the late 1990s, during the peak of the Pokémon craze. She explained that her mother had bought the collection to prevent her from being taken advantage of in her Pokémon trades, intending for her to save it until she got older. Little did they know the true worth of the cards.

Travis Landry, the expert appraiser, provided some history on the franchise, mentioning that the name Pokémon was actually an abbreviation for the game in Japan, which was Pocket Monsters. The collector’s set turned out to be the original 1999 base set, containing the first 102 cards released in the Pokémon game, including the 16 original holographic cards.

It was revealed that the collection held a significantly higher value than the guest had anticipated, showcasing the enduring popularity and worth of Pokémon memorabilia. This unexpected appraisal on Antiques Roadshow US highlights the continued fascination and value of nostalgic items from the 1990s.