LogInThere are ways to spot rare cards without opening the package.
Through some news, I have learned how crazy some collectors can be when it comes to rare cards. For example, in July of 2022, WWE Superstar Logan Paul paid over 5 million dollars for a Pikachu Illustrator card, making it the most expensive Pokémon card ever traded.
The whopping value held by rare Pokémon cards makes them not only favored by collectors but also criminals, who take them as a tool to launder dirty money.
The Pokémon Company/The Gamer
According to a report by the Japanese outlet Shunkai Gendai online, "Many of the criminals who commit bank transfer fraud are converting the money they have stolen into Pokémon cards.” (Translated by Google) Carrying a suitcase full of paper money makes the carrier a blatant target, while the palm-size "Pokemon cards are easy to hide, and if you take them overseas and cash them there, you can't get caught," said a former head of a crime group.
Obviously, not all the Pokémon cards are targeted; only the rare ones are. These cards are sold in packs, each containing five cards. How do they decide if a pack has rare cards or not? That’s not a difficult task for smart human beings who can take advantage of modern technologies. A reseller known as Daisuke Ogasawara shared:
"Rare cards above a certain level are coated with aluminum, so if you put the pack through a metal detector or a high-precision scale, you can guess which packs are likely to contain rare cards without opening them.”
Once the valuable cards are caught, the pack will be opened so the rare cards can be sold separately, while the other unopened packs will return to the market like nothing had happened.
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