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A 3-inch Flamin’ Hot Cheeto shaped like the Pokémon Charizard sold for $87,840 at auction March 2 after beginning its bidding at $250.
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This Cheeto is worth a whole lot of cheddar.
A Flamin' Hot Cheeto shaped like Pokémon's Charizard sold at auction March 2 for $87,840 after 60 bids.
The coveted item, dubbed "Cheetozard," was sold through the collectible marketplace Goldin in a custom Pokémon card-shaped box featuring its witty name. The 3-inch spicy chip—which is shaped like the fire-breathing dragon from the beloved Japanese franchise—began bidding at $250 on Feb. 10 before reaching its peak bid at $72,000.
However, its lucky winner ultimately dished out an extra $15,840 due to the auction house's 22 percent "buyer's premium" fee. While Goldin did not reveal who took home the cheesy art, the website did share that it was "initially discovered and preserved sometime between 2018-2022 by 1st & Goal Collectibles."
In fact, the Georgia-based collectors shared a clip of the Cheeto on Instagram in April 2024, writing, "We've had the Cheetozard for about 5 years now and we totally forgot we had it until cleaning out the safe! Loads of offers have come in."
Despite raising eyebrows for its final bid, the Cheetozard
isn't the only food item to come with a hefty cost. The art piece "Comedian" by Maurizio Cattelan, which is a banana duct taped to a white wall, was purchased for $6.24 million in November.
First debuting at Art Basel Miami Beach in December 2019, the banana art brought in large crowds, giving it an estimated $1.5 million value, according to Sotheby's auction where the artwork was sold.
"They eventually had to take it off the wall," art critic Nancy Durrant said in Sotheby's video about the auction, "because it created such a stir that the crowds were too big and they were all worried about the other artworks."
At one point during the exhibition, one man even took the banana off the wall and ate it. So, it was no surprise that the artwork was "taken down for public safety reasons," according to Sotheby's Head of Contemporary Marquee Sales Lucius Elliott.
As for what Cattelan thought about the speculations around his piece?
"You should never ask an artist about their art," he told The New York Times in April. "The best art raises lots and lots of questions."
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