CGC Cards Grades 11 More Ishihara GX Promo Cards

In May 2023, CGC Cards™ announced that it had graded its first Ishihara GX Pokémon promo card. It received a grade of CGC 8.5. Now, CGC Cards is thrilled to reveal that it has graded 11 more Ishihara GX promo cards. Ten of the 11 cards were graded CGC 8 or better, with the top two submissions receiving the new CGC Gem Mint 10 grade.

Ishihara GX features a full-art depiction of Tsunekazu Ishihara illustrated by Mike Cressy. CGC Cards has learned that the card was created by the US Pokémon team in total secrecy as a surprise for Mr. Ishihara. The cards were presented to Mr. Ishihara and were then given out by him personally to guests at his private 60th birthday party. This exclusive celebration was held at the Country Music Hall of Fame on August 26th, 2018, during the Pokémon World Championships in Nashville, Tennessee. It is unknown how many copies of the card still exist, but it’s clear that the card is incredibly special to Pokémon fans, collectors, and The Pokémon Company itself.

One of the Ishihara GX cards that CGC Cards had the honor of certifying is truly special — it has been signed by Ishihara himself. Since Ishihara did not sign every card that was given out during his birthday celebration, we can assume that signed examples are extremely rare. The signed card received a grade of CGC 9, and even includes a small sketch of Pikachu!

Click images to enlarge.

Mr. Ishihara is the current president of The Pokémon Company and a pioneer of the entire Pokémon franchise. In addition to spearheading the development of the first Pokémon video games, Mr. Ishihara is responsible for leading the creation of the Pokémon TCG as well. He has been involved in every aspect of Pokémon since the beginning of the franchise, and his leadership has seen Pokémon become the highest-grossing media franchise of all time. Mr. Ishihara is also the founder of Creatures Inc. — the development company responsible for several departments of the Pokémon franchise — and served as the company’s CEO until April 2023.

Click images to enlarge.

“CGC Cards is honored to have graded a total of 12 Ishihara GX cards in just a few months,” said Matt Quinn, Vice President of CGC Cards. “The rarity of this collectible cannot be understated and we’re thrilled to now have several examples in the CGC Cards Population Report.”

About CGC Cards

In July, CGC Trading Cards® and Certified Sports Guaranty® (CSG®) combined into CGC Cards™, becoming one of the world’s largest and most prominent card grading services. In addition to grading virtually all TCGs, sports cards and non-sports cards, CGC Cards also features a number of collector-friendly upgrades, including non-member submissions, lower submission prices for members, the new Gem Mint 10 grade and a sleek new label that blends seamlessly with cards (as seen above). For more information about the new CGC Cards, go here.