World's Biggest Pokemon Collection Is Being Auctioned Later This Month

thegamer.com:

In January 2010, 21-year-old Lisa Courtney grabbed headlines as she made her way into the Guinness Book of Records for being the biggest Pokemon collector in the world. The Englishwoman had amassed more than 12,000 Pokemon-themed items, which then quickly grew to 13,400 after she snagged the world record, in a collection that she'd added to over a 13-year span.

Now, later this month, a collection is going up for auction that is described as the world's biggest pocket monster collection (BBC via Nintendo Life). The auction will include more than 20,000 items including Pokemon trading cards, video games, films, posters, manga, books, toys, and even toilet paper.

Related: Diary Of A Pokemon First Timer: Now I Get Why These Games Are So Popular

Now, we don't know for sure who this collection belongs to, as the owner of the lot isn't named, but we do know it's a woman from Hertfordshire, England. So the pieces seem to fit together: woman, English, biggest Pokemon collection. In the BBC report, this anonymous auctionee is described as having collected Pokemon paraphernalia for over two decades but had decided to sell the collection off "for financial reasons". A few items she will be keeping, however, for sentimental reasons – and this includes a Guiness World Record certificate.

The 20,000-plus collection of items will be auctioned off in a single lot and it's estimated that it could fetch up to £300,000 (nearly $339,000). Highlights of the lot include three German first-edition sealed base set packs, a signed Japanese Mew purse plush, and multiple copies of rarer cards such as Charizard shinies.

The sell-off comes at a time when Pokemon items have been soaring in value, especially for rarer pieces. While this part of the