Extremely Rare ‘Magic: The Gathering’ Card Sells For Half A Million At Auction

This mythically rare Magic: The Gathering card, more specifically the Black Lotus, has sold for more than $500,000 at an auction on eBay this week.

It's astonishing, isn't it? It's more money than lots of us will ever see in our lifetimes, and it's been spent on a small rectangle of paper with someone's name written on it, and its only viable use or function is in matches of Magic. This card was printed more than two decades ago, in the original Alpha set of Magic cards, which boast rounded corners and black borders in their design. The Black Lotus is unique in that it needs no mana to play, while also adding three mana of any color to your pool. Ergo, it's sought-after among Magic communities because it's a powerful card to hold, allowing the player to cast powerful spells in short succession.

PWCC

Professional Sports Authenticators assessed the card, and found it to easily surpass the value of one sold in 2019, which went for $166,100. In fact, this card is more than five times the value of a Black Lotus in 2018, which just goes to show how popular and how intense the collectible card market is in 2021.

But, you might be scratching your head in wonder: why is this Black Lotus so special? Well, firstly, it got a PSA grade of 10 which means it is a "virtually perfect card" with "perfectly sharp corners, sharp focus and full original gloss. This is achievable if you don't unwrap the card from its original packaging, or failing that don't ever touch the card and keep it somewhere safe from damp, light, heat, jammy fingers, everything.

Secondly, the case that the Black Lotus card was housed in was signed by Christopher Rush. An artist who illustrated over 100 cards in this Alpha set, even down to the design of the symbols for the colours of mana, Rush sadly passed away at the age of 50 in 2016. This card therefore has a significance beyond its use in a card game, and represents a part of an individual's life and the impact they had on others. Yes, it is a small rectangle of paper, but as it happens, it can mean more than the money that's spent on it.

Topics: Magic: The Gathering, News