One week after an Unlimited copy of Magic: The Gathering’s most valuable card, Black Lotus, appeared in a draft in Japan, a printing of the original Alpha Black Lotus popped up on eBay… and sold for over $87,000!
We last estimated that an Alpha Black Lotus would sell for roughly $15,000, based on prices set by TCGPlayer and other popular online markets. However, an original in such good condition had not been sold in quite some time, and given the recent explosion in Magic’s popularity, it would make sense that the value of one of its most valuable cards would skyrocket as demand increases.
Only 1,100 of these cards were ever printed, and the millions of players who enjoy Magic nowadays are likely never to even see one, let alone own one. Collectors are being born and coming of age every day.
Alpha Black Lotuses… they aren’t.
The eBay auction closed at $87,672. To fetch such a high price, the rarity of the card is taken into account, but so is the quality. The 9.5 “Gem Mint” grade given by Beckett, a service that rates the quality of trading cards, means that this particular Black Lotus is in exceptional condition.
And wouldn’t you know it, another has popped up on eBay, this time selling for $100,000. Man, and I complain that check lands and fast lands are too expensive.
