Magic: The Gathering Casts Spell At Auction

 

Magic: The Gathering Beta “Time Vault” card, PSA grade 6, $1,651

Collectible cards have been around since the advertising trade cards of the 1800s, and card games long before then. Combining the two is a more recent idea. Magic: The Gathering, created by Richard Garfield in 1993 as Wizards of the Coast, was the first trading card game. Quinn’s Auction Galleries of Falls Church, VA, offered the Michael A. Quigley collection of Wizards of the West Coat Magic: The Gathering, which spans the game’s history, in a live gallery auction on May 15.

Magic: The Gathering “The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale” card, PSA grade 8.0, $2,667

Magic: The Gathering has about 50 million players and generates more than $1 billion in revenue annually, thanks to its fans viewing the cards as collectibles. With that in mind, Matthew Quinn, Senior Vice President of Quinn’s, expected intense bidding and high sale prices. In a press release before the auction began, he noted that “there are already eleven bids on a group of 89 Magic: The Gathering Limited Edition Beta Swamp (B) Basic Land cards.” The lot sold for $1,016.

Magic: The Gathering Limited Edition Alpha set in sealed case, $45,720

The auction’s headliner was an extremely rare Limited Edition Alpha set. Released in 1993 and containing 295 cards, the Alpha set was the game’s original starter deck. This set is factory sealed in its magnetic case that resembles a book, adding to its value. It sold for $45,720; an impressive price, despite just missing its presale estimate of $50,000.

Magic: The Gathering Beta “Volcanic Island” card, PSA grade 4, $5,715

Players of Magic: The Gathering take on the roles of dueling wizards, and the cards in their decks represent the spells they use against their opponents or the resources they use to cast their spells. Some individual cards were expected to sell for hundreds, even thousands of dollars, and many exceeded those expectations. A Beta “Volcanic Island” surpassed its high estimate of $4,500 to sell for $5,715. The cards didn’t have to be in perfect condition to achieve high prices; this one had a PSA grade of 4. A Beta “Time Vault” card PSA graded 6 sold for $1,651. Beta cards, released in 1993, came from the second print run of the Limited Edition starter deck.

Magic: The Gathering “Moat/Fossato” card, Legends Expansion set, Italy, Beckett grade 9.5, $825

Some cards up for sale were in mint or near-mint condition. “The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale” card PSA graded 8.0, Near Mint, sold within its $2,000 to $4,000 presale estimate at $2,667. This card was from the Legends Expansion Set, released in 1994. A “Moat/Fossato” card from the Italian version of the Legends Expansion Set had a Beckett grade of 9.5. Expected to sell for $400 to $600, it achieved a final price of $825.

Group of about 800 Magic: The Gathering cards, Arabian Knights Expansion Set, $4,127

Groups of cards also sold well. A collection of about 800 cards from the Arabian Knights Expansion Set sold for $4,127, more than doubling its high estimate of $1,200. A group of about 1000 Limited Edition Beta cards with a high estimate of $2,000 sold for $5,080. These groups included many multiples of the same card, an appealing prospect for collectors who enjoy trading their cards as well as playing the game.

Group of 1000 Magic: The Gathering Limited Edition Beta cards, $5,080

Photos courtesy of Quinn’s Auction Galleries.

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