# Pokémon card boom (2020–2021)

> Heritage reported a $408,000 Pokémon box sale before Target halted in-store card sales.

- Owner: null
- Kind: Activity
- Sector: Toys & collectibles
- Seed date: 2020-10-09
- Milestone date: 2021-05-14
- Date basis: Documented milestone; not a measured attention peak.
- Spread Score: 43 (Notable, provisional), v1.2
- Mechanics: Variable reward, Scarcity drop, Resale market, Revival, Press loop

## Summary

Paul opened a vintage box on YouTube as card prices rose. Auction records and anniversary-card shortages drew coverage; PSA suspended submissions. Target’s May 14 sales halt provided a retail milestone for this case.

## Timeline

- 2020-10-09 — Logan Paul (YouTube) — Paul opened a first-edition Base Set box on YouTube after selling its packs to fans.
- 2020-10-13 — Polygon (Press) — Polygon reported rapper Logic’s purchase of a gem-mint first-edition Charizard at auction.
- Nov 2020 — Heritage Auctions (Open web) — A sealed first-edition Base Set box sold for $360,000 at Heritage during November.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/pokemon-card-boom-2021

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Pokémon card boom (2020–2021).” Case HIS-01348. Spread Score v1.2: 43/100. Updated 2026-10-22. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01348