Despite widespread expectations to the contrary, the value of the gold Burger King TCG cards in the Pokémon Trading Card Game has not increased over time. Pokémon Red and Green introduced the Game Freak franchise to Japan in 1996, and the Gen 1 Pokémon Red and Blue edition Kanto RPGs marked its global debut two years later. Instantly becoming a cultural hit, the Nintendo series inspired the development of a wide range of items, including a partnership between the TCG and Burger King. Although many children in the 1990s thought the fast-food chain’s Pokémon cards would be extremely valuable in the future, the gold collectibles are not as precious as many had anticipated.
The Pokémon Company chose to release Pokémon: The First Movie – Mewtwo Strikes Back in theatres in 1999 as a result of the animation series’ enormous popularity. In order to promote the release of the movie, Nintendo and Burger King collaborated to create a series of toys. But the promotional campaign’s most sought-after treasures were the 23 carat gold-plated Pokémon cards that were packaged inside dummy Pokémon Poké Balls. The limited edition Charizard, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, Pikachu, Poliwhirl, and Togepi gold cards were part of the promotional materials for the Pokémon film Mewtwo Strikes Back.
Pokémon enthusiasts went into a full frenzy after the 1999 movie promotional campaign, rushing out to buy as many of the gold TCG cards as they could. Many collectors kept the golden Pokémon cards sealed on purpose and stored them away because they thought they would one day be worth thousands of dollars. The value of many vintage Pokémon TCG collectibles has skyrocketed in 2022, but the Burger King advertisements have not been as successful as many had hoped.
Real Pokémon Cards Are More Valuable Than The Gold Ones
Since the year 2020, the value of TCG products has soared, with certain cards even fetching hundreds of thousands of dollars. The majority of Pokémon cards with the highest market values are often from the 1990s, such the iconic Base Set Charizard, which has fetched as much as $420,000. Therefore, it makes sense that many Pokémon aficionados would believe Burger King’s gold Pokémon cards, which were published the same year, will be quite valuable in 2022. Sadly, the value of the Pokémon: The First Movie promo cards has not increased as much as that of other TCG products that were published at the same time.
The gold Pokémon cards sell on average for $18, with some going as high as $30, according to sales statistics from sites like eBay. The value drops to about 10 bucks if the collectible isn’t sealed. The gold Burger King souvenirs were mass produced, unlike many rare and exclusive Pokémon TCG Collectors Editions. The fact that everyone assembled them in the hope that they might one day be valuable and consciously stored them makes the situation worse. As a result, there is a huge population of gold Pokémon cards.
When the TCG first came out in 1999, a lot of kids played with and traded cards on the schoolyards. The majority of fans didn’t even own the restricted 1st edition print run, which was made available before the limitless set with which they were all raised. Some TCG memorabilia, like the iconic Pikachu Illustrator Pokémon card, were only distributed during promotional activities. The Burger King advertisement, which was adopted by millions of fans worldwide, cannot be considered to have had the same effect. Fans of the Pokémon Trading Card Game gold Burger King cards are unlikely to ever get wealthy since there are simply too many excellent examples of them available to produce a market with a low supply and high demand.
