Magic: The Gathering Black Lotus card sells for a record $540,000

a black lotus card from Magic the Gathering – Considered to be the most sought after card MagicAnd perhaps more than any trading card game – the record sold at auction for $540,000, the highest bid ever for anyone. Magic Card. This is an impressive figure, although it does suggest that the market for collectible trading card game cards has stabilized after years of explosive growth.

An almost identical example of the Black Lotus sold two years ago for $510,000. Like the cards in the current auction, it was given a Perfect Gem Mint 10 rating for its condition by Professional Sports Authenticators, and its case was signed by Christopher Rush, the card’s illustrator. Only six PSA 10 Black Lotus cards are known to exist.

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Photo: PWCC

There’s been a slight increase in value, then — but nothing like the tripling in value of Black Lotus between 2019 and 2021, as the trading card game’s popularity boomed during the pandemic. Some market observers may conclude that Bank of America was right to complain that Hasbro, the owner of Magic The publisher, Wizards of the Coast, was printing too many cards and undervaluing them. Packs celebrating the game’s 30th anniversary included reprints of rare cards, including controversially Black Lotus.

the black lotus that returns MagicThe Alpha printing, first in 1993, is noted for its rarity (its print run was approximately 1,100) and its power. It costs no mana to play, but it adds three mana of any color to your pool, so it’s a great shortcut to cast powerful spells early in the game. It is one of the “Power Nine”, a set of cards that have been banned from most formats of competitive play for their excessive power.

“This record sale reinforces the Alpha Black Lotus as an investment-quality asset, reinforces its claim as a true work of art, and shows just how important Magic the Gathering Gaming and trading is for the culture of card games,” said Jesse Craig, vice president of sales at PWCC Marketplace, which conducted the auction. “It is highly unlikely that we will see one of these signed copies available for purchase again in the near future. They are the crown jewels for a collection. They will remain under lock and key and should be treated as museum-caliber pieces.” would be perceived as,” said Craig, perhaps with only slight exaggeration.

values ​​of Magic cards match only those pokemon The Trading Card Game, which is also nicely broken down into six digits. Last year, a Pikachu Illustrator card from 1998 sold for an astonishing $900,000 (though it should be noted that this is a rare promotional card, and not actually playable in the game).

To put these prices into perspective, the highest price ever paid for a trading card of any type is $12.6 million in 2022 for a 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card. In that context, half a million for Black Lotus looks like a bargain.