As the 30th anniversary of Pokémon approaches, Australians are being urged to dig through their old trading card collections, with some cherished childhood keepsakes now worth thousands.

What was once playground currency is fast becoming a serious investment market, with rare cards fetching eye-watering prices and leaving many fans regretting giving theirs away.

Lucy Hughes is among the lucky collectors.

After buying a $7 booster pack, she discovered her Gengar EX card was graded a Gem Mint 10 – a top-tier rating that has seen its value soar to around $3000.

While Hughes acknowledges there is a growing side-hustle market for reselling rare cards, she said not everything was for sale.

“My personal collection — I’m so emotionally attached to the cards I have. To me, my collection is like my childhood,” she said.

For anyone who once dabbled in the trading card craze, experts say now may be the time to dust off those old boxes. You could be sitting on a small fortune.

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