Hake’s Nov. 15-16 auction answers demand for Star Wars collectibles, vintage video games

Left: ‘Journey Into Mystery’ #83, August 1962, features origin and first appearance of Marvel’s God of Thunder, The Mighty Thor. CGC 5.5 Fine. Estimate $10,000-$20,000; Right: Marvel ‘Tales Of Suspense’ #39, March 1963, features origin and first appearance of Iron Man. CGC 4.5 VG+. Estimate $10,000-$20,000

YORK, Pa. – The quest for early Star Wars collectibles has reached a fevered pitch, but the auction market tells us the journey is just beginning. Interest in Star Wars items is stronger than ever, especially for prototypes and samples, rare variations, and toys produced in low numbers or no numbers at all. To some, it may seem that Hake’s – the auction house holding numerous world records for Star Wars material – has already sold the ultimate rarities from that wildly popular category. But exciting surprises continue to emerge, some from unexpected sources, and those fresh consignments and new discoveries will be front and center at Hake’s November 15-16 pop culture auction.

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Gotta catch ’em all! Collecting Pokemon cards

Charizard, a fire Pokemon, has widespread appeal. This first edition card fetched $31,000 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2021 at Heritage Auctions.
This first-edition Charizard card sold for $31,000 plus the buyer’s premium in April 2021 at Heritage Auctions.

NEW YORK — At any point in time, just about anything that is wildly popular with the younger generation can and does become collectible. Pokemon is said to be the biggest media franchise of all time, and its trading cards are one of the top-growing collector categories. With more than 800 Pokemon characters, the hugely popular cards are intended for use in a game where players battle against each other with the character-monsters shown on their cards. “Pokemon” translates to “pocket monsters,” and in the United States, the Pokemon franchise is advertised with the now-famous phrase, “Gotta catch ’em all!”

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