Teacher to fund wedding by selling rare Pokémon cards

A teacher is planning to fund his summer wedding by selling three rare Pokémon trading cards which he found in his attic.

Andrew Braund found his 20-year-old collection of Pokémon cards when he was clearing out his loft and says he was astonished to discover they were worth a small fortune.

The cards will be auctioned at Ewbank's in Woking on Thursday, with the funds being used to pay for his wedding in August.

Together the cards are expected to raise just under £25,000, starting with a single card - a mint condition Skyridge Charizard Holo - estimated to see for between £8,000 and £12,000.

Another copy of the same card in near-mint condition is expected to sell for between £7,000 and £10,000, while a Reverse-Holo of the same card should make £1,600 to £2,200, the auctioneers estimate.

Braund had collected the cards as a boy and it was only when he retrieved them from his attic to show them to a friend who is an expert collector that he discovered how much the treasure trove was worth.

Braund said: "I was a very keen Pokémon card collector between the ages of about eight and 15, but most of my collection is quite dog-eared and loved so I really didn't expect it to be worth anything.

"But when I was clearing out the attic I found several cards in a tin, which were still in the original foil and in excellent condition.

"When my friend told me how much the Charizard cards might be worth I got quite light headed."

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