I started collecting Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering cards for my children in the 1990s – now I’m set to make £250,000 at auction
A savvy father who started collecting Pokémon cards for his children in the 1990s has revealed how he is set to make £250,000 at auction.
Gordon White, 58, from Livingston, Scotland, spend 16 years building up his collection of rare trading cards – which also includes Magic: The Gathering sets.
The delivery driver says his obsession with trading cards began in 1998 when his two children asked to join a Pokémon league.
Last November, Gordon sold the first half of his collection – which fetched a staggering £200,000 at auction.
Now the trading card enthusiast is hoping to make another £50,000 by selling the rest of his ‘treasure trove’ of Magic: The Gathering cards.
Gordon White, 58, says now is the time to ‘pass it all on’ as he always wanted to complete his set. The father-of-two became obsessed when his children joined a Pokémon league in 1998
The father explained: ‘For me, the fun is the completing, not the collecting. And as far as I’m concerned, I’ve completed it so it’s time to pass it all on.’
Over the years, Gordon ran a Pokémon league and acted as a judge in UK events – which involved ‘mixing with the highest echelons in the Pokémon world.’
However, auctioneer Richard Winterton, from Lichfield, Staffordshire, said Gordon’s Magic: The Gathering cards would also be as highly sought after by collectors as it was a ‘landmark’ in trading card games.
Magic: The Gathering was released in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast and is since believed to have been played by at least 35 million people.
The auctioneer explained: ‘Magic is the first trading card of its type where you collected cards and then sent them off to do battle.
‘It’s an absolute landmark in the early days of trading cards. Wizards Of The Coast became a big name from Magic: The Gathering.
‘It was after Magic that Wizards Of The Coast got the licence to do Pokémon for the West.’
What’s more, Gordon’s collection – featuring hundreds of cards – is particularly exciting for Richard Winterton Aucitoneers as they have never had one of this size before.
These sealed Pokémon Emerging Powers factory boxes are included in Gordon’s impressive collection which are going under the hammer. Similar items fetch upwards of £800 online
Left: Gordon’s full set of Pokémon Pop Series 5 with Espeon and Umbreon. Right: Gordon’s Magic: The Gathering Mercadian Masques with Overtake
Gordon’s Magic Urza’s Legacy with Beast of Burden collection (pictured) is expected to fetch £10,000
The experts predict the Magic: The Gathering Seventh Edition foil set in excellent to mint condition will fetch up to £10,000.
What’s more, Gordon’s complete Urza’s Legacy with the Beast of Burden set is estimated to sell for between £3,000-£4,000.
The auction also features two unopened Pokemon Emerging Powers factory boxes – with similar items being sold for upwards of £800 online.
Gordon’s Pokémon collection include complete Pop Series 5 with all 17 cards including the ‘extremely rare’ Espeon 16/17 and Umbreon 17/17, and a complete EX Keepers Set with all gold star cards.
Other cards in the sale include VS System Marvel and DC, Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter from the early 2000s.