A grandfather had to clear some space for a hospital bed when his wife became ill with cancer-and what he found abandoned in his closet has earned the family more than $50,000.

The pile of Pokémon cards were almost thrown in the trash, until the Englishman's 50-year-old daughter suggested they might be worth some cash.

Now, one of the unopened packages-a Pokémon Fourth Print Base Set Booster Box-is set to fetch at least 20,000 at auction.

He bought the box of 102 Japanese trading cards as a spare set in 1999 after he started collecting cards with his four-year-old granddaughter.

The box, which is still in its original cellophane wrapper, was kept in his cupboard for over two decades before it was almost thrown out.

"There were thousands of them," said his 50-year-old daughter. "Dad planned to throw them away, but I said, 'Blimey, dad, some of these might be worth a bit'."

The 81-year-old grandfather is now putting up the unopened box for auction next week, and it's expected to fetch twenty thousand bucks.

"Some loose cards were thrown away. The rest we decided to sell. That's when the extent of the collection was realized.

"'Gotta catch 'em all' is the Pokémon catchprase and dad really had caught 'em all."

The ones they've already sold have garnered over 50,000, and the money's being split between family members.

The family still have four other sealed boxes of Pokémon cards locked in safes to sell "in case of emergencies".

The seller's daughter recalled her own daughter and dad going on weekend trips together to get the cards from a hobby shop in Chester, England. The person at the shop suggested they purchase boxes, instead of individual packs-and it worked out in both their favors.

David Wilson-Turner, Head of the Toy Department at Hansons auctions, explained what makes the boxes rare.

"What distinguishes the Pokémon Fourth Print Base Set Booster Box from others, and makes it scarce, is that it was only released in the UK. The 102 cards inside, contained in 36 sealed booster packs, bear a definitive date stamp stating 1999-2000. Other base set cards are stamped 1999.

"Being an avid collector my dad kept the cards pristine.

"It seems crazy a box of cards could be worth so much now. Paying around £100-120 per box in 1999 was a lot of money for a working man. But like all grandads he liked to spoil his grandchildren."

Some proceeds from the sale will help the seller's granddaughter, now 28, who is training to be a paramedic at university.

"It was started for my daughter and it ends for her."

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