Off-Topic Forum

A Magic the Gathering collector recently sold full sets of Beta, Arabian Nights, Legends, and Antiquities for $140,000 and gave the money away to two local charities. If you don't know anything about MtG, those are pretty significant sets.

We often share ebay listings of dishonest sellers trying to pass off fake cards as real or inflating card rarity just to make a couple dollars. We also have many posts about how card companies and "flippers" are exploiting collectors to just to make a buck. All the greed associated with this hobby can make one's heart a little heavy.

In light of the times and in the spirit of the season, I'd thought I'd share a link to a video where two Magic the Gathering collectors work together to sell some of the rarest and most desirable MtG sets for $140k and then give the money to charity. I know they're not baseball cards, but they are collectors all the same. What they've done is simply amazing.

Check out the Professor's video on his Youtube channel: Tolarian Community College, support the charities if so inspired, and be well.

That is a fantastic and generous gift! So cool. Thanks for sharing the positive outlook and good news from the hobby!

Some more context, since it is MtG (not a sports set). 

The one MtG card people might have heard of, if they've heard of any of them, is the Black Lotus.  There was a version of it in three different sets, (Alpha, Beta, Unlimited).  The most valuable one ever sold was an Alpha version [$166k] (pre-covid). 

In the sets sold for these charities it includes the Beta version of the Black Lotus.  While it doesn't go for nearly as much, one sold recently for $16k.  And it was only graded 3.5.  I don't know any sports cards from 1993 that would sell for that much being graded so low. 

None of the cards sold in these sets were graded.  The owner says they're all NM (in the video), and considering how serious he is about the cards it's hard to doubt that they aren't all in great shape.  The buyer could probably have a couple dozen graded and make more than their money back.  [A poorly titled article about expensive MtG cards: 7/10 are from sets sold for these charities]

I just think it adds a little more context for people who might not be as familiar with these cards.  Yes, the guy gave away cards that sold for $140k.  But they're really likely worth a lot more if/when graded.  Think about it.  He gave away enough to buy a house (most markets).  He gave away some of the most valuable, most difficult to complete sets of MtG cards.  In the video looking at his card room you can tell he's a huge fan of the game.  And he gave them away.  This isn't like just letting go of some spare doubles that are taking up space.

Pretty cool move. 

Very nice!

Are these cards valuable because they are short printed? I know nothing about mtg

There's three generally accepted reasons that cards from these sets are so expensive

1. Scarcity. Early Magic the Gathering sets were produced in significantly smaller quantities than today's sets. For example, the estimated print run for the Beta set is 7.5 million cards (meaning individual "Rares" are limited to about 3,300 copies) compared to modern sets that have print runs in excess of 50 billion cards.
2. The Reserved List. Wizards of the Coast (the makers of Magic cards) has made a commitment to collectors of early sets that they will not reprint certain cards in order to protect the cards' value on the secondary market. If you're really interested, you can view Wizards' reprint policy and Reserve List here.
3. Playability. Magic the Gathering is a game after all and the cards are used to play the game. Many of the valuable cards from these early sets have very powerful effects in the game. Having some of these cards in your play deck, can make your deck extremely competive. 

The fact that these cards have powerful in-game effects, were printed in low numbers, and will never be reprinted ensures that they will continue to demand a significant investment if you want to own one.

smwarpig63 wrote:

Are these cards valuable because they are short printed? I know nothing about mtg

Very cool!  It's been about 15 years since I played MTG, but it's been crazy to see how some grown in value.  It's wonderful that they were willing (and able) to do that, especially this year with so many folks struggling.

Had I found MTG while still in highschool instead of ten years later I could have had that kind of money, but oh well. Some things are better left to be found out about later; and as is said it isn't really all about the money. If I recall correctly the most powerful of all the cards in those early MTG sets are called the Power 9.