Charizard Grail Auction is Live: Courtyard.io and Polygon Labs Usher in a New Era of Collecting

A Gem Mint example of one of the most iconic trading cards of all time—the one and only 1st Edition Charizard—is going up for auction, courtesy of Polygon Labs and Courtyard.io. 

This would be big news in the world of collectibles by itself, but there’s a twist that makes this a momentous occasion for the Web3 space and collectors around the world: The auction is taking place onchain, via Courtyard’s platform, which runs on Polygon PoS.

You heard that right: Charizard is going onchain–even as it’s secured in a Brink’s vault, because you need every assurance when you’re dealing with a deity among trading cards.

The month-long auction will go live on December 6th, and you can participate or just watch the action at Courtyard.io. Don’t miss out on the fun. This is a historic moment for tokenization, yes, but also for our old friend Charizard.

The ultimate Charizard grail

The PSA 10-graded 1999 1st Edition Holographic Charizard Pokémon card is one of the most iconic trading cards in history, with a previous record-breaking sale of $420,000. If you’re of a certain age, you remember the mythos surrounding the seemingly magical Charizard card that few could attain.

25 years after its release, Pokémon (and Charizard in particular) have an enduring place in the pop culture canon. And the card itself has become extremely valuable, due to its rarity: The card that will be auctioned off, which is graded a PSA 10 (the highest level of preservation), is currently valued at roughly $250,000. There are only 125 PSA 10-graded Charizard cards in existence.

So this isn’t just some random collectible. Polygon Labs and Courtyard are teaming up for an onchain auction of the most instantly recognizable trading card of all time.‍

What is Courtyard.io?‍

Courtyard is a collectibles platform and marketplace for real-world assets like graded Pokémon and sports cards, built on Polygon PoS. Collectors can grow their collection with Vending Machine, head to the Marketplace to instantly list, buy, and sell cards with collectors around the world, or submit their own cards to be vaulted and tokenized.‍

How does Courtyard’s tokenization feature work?

There are three basic elements to Courtyard’s tokenization process, all of which will be experienced by the Charizard card prior to the auction:

• Secure storage: The physical collectible itself–in this case, a Charizard card–is stored in a Brink's vault, with a level of security appropriate for storing high-value assets such as gold and silver. That is to say, the collectible is protected by some very firm security assurances.
• Digital representation: Once the collectible is secured, Courtyard creates a detailed 3D model of the asset, complete with high-resolution scans. This digital counterpart provides a comprehensive visual representation of the collectible, capturing its nuances and condition, so that collectors have a detailed sense of what they’re buying.
• Blockchain minting: In the final step of the process, a non-fungible token (NFT) is created on the Polygon PoS blockchain, representing ownership of the physical asset. This NFT acts as a digital certificate of authenticity and ownership, enabling secure and transparent trading.‍

What does Courtyard’s tokenization process unlock for collectors and traders?

Far from being a mere novelty, the onchain tokenization of physical collectibles via Courtyard opens up a new meta for collectors and traders. Once collectibles transcend their physical limitations (while still remaining physically secure), all kinds of things become possible.

• Fractional ownership: NFTs, such as those created via Courtyard, can be fractionally owned. That is to say, their value can be shared among multiple people, which can in turn make highly expensive collectibles–say, for example, a Charizard card–more accessible to a wider range of collectors.
• Instant liquidity: Instead of being beholden to the burdensome geographic and temporal limitations of a physical object, a tokenized collectible can be traded at any time in a global marketplace. Your Charizard can, in a sense, transcend time and space, while still remaining safe in a Brink’s vault.
• Increased transparency: With blockchains providing a publicly verifiable record of transactions, it’s much easier to trace the provenance of a collectible–in a form that can’t be tampered with or obscured.
• Enhanced security: The uniqueness of NFTs further mitigates the risk of fraud, including counterfeiting. The NFT representation of your Charizard, or whatever else, will always remain distinctive and verifiable.
• DeFi integration: Courtyard lets you get the most out of your assets by using them as DeFi collateral, which opens up an array of possibilities for lending, borrowing, and other uses.

Not just Courtyard.io and Polygon Labs: The other players supporting the auction

Courtyard.io and Polygon Labs are the driving forces behind the auction, but much like in the Pokémon narrative universe, it’s all about putting together the best possible team. There are multiple other Web3 projects chipping in:

• Quickswap: The popular DEX will host a weekly community update, leveraging their platform and community to raise awareness about the auction.
• Teller: Getting in on the DeFi fun, non-custodial lending protocol Teller is enabling collectors to use their PSA-graded Charizard cards from Base Set and Base Set 2 as collateral for loans. 
• wen.markets: A memecoin launchpad, wen.markets will be helping its community create Charizard-themed memecoins. 
• Polymarket: A prediction market for the final price of the auction will be available.

So what’s next for Charizard?‍

Let the bidding begin! Charizard will stay safe and sound in its vault (kind of like a Pokéball) while the flurry of activity that encompasses this auction takes place in the ethereal–but value-creating–realm of the blockchain. 

This auction will be a lot of fun, but it’s also an important milestone for tokenization and collectibles alike. If Web3 is going to reach its full potential, it needs to show what it can do for the world of physical objects. 

It’s always an honor to work with an icon. Thank you, Charizard, for letting us make this next step with you. 

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