• A Black Lotus for the original Alpha print run of Magic: The Gathering has sold for a record $540 000 at auction.
• The card carried a PSA rating of 10, a rating only six of 105 Black Lotus cards have achieved.
• This news comes on the back of details that Wizards of the Coast are launching a one-of-one foil print of The One Ring for a Lord of the Rings-themed series of cards.

There are very few collectible cards that will have well-heeled collectors reaching for their wallets, but Magic: The Gathering (MTG) has more than a few cards that match that description.

One of these is the Black Lotus, a card that was included in the Alpha print of the game before it became a cultural hit. That original print run included 295 cards. The rarest cards in that print only had little over a thousand copies printed and included in that run was the now iconic Black Lotus.

At the weekend, a copy of the iconic card was sold at auction for a record $540 000 making it the highest bid ever for an MTG card.

This specific card carries a Professional Sports Authenticators (PSA) Gem Mint 10 rating. The case the card was stored in to protect it, was also signed by its illustrator Christopher Rush.

“PSA has graded only six examples of this card in PSA 10 out of 105 they reviewed, making this example an immediate showpiece in any collector’s portfolio. Further adding to this aura of exclusivity, the case sports the signature of artist Christopher Rush; however, PSA did not authenticate the signature,” reads a blurb on the now-closed auction page.

As reported by Polygon, an almost identical iteration of this card was sold in 2021 for $510 000. While the auction at the weekend was a notable increase, it’s not as wide as the difference between a card sold in 2020 for $250 000.

The reason behind this increase over the years is thanks to the surge in popularity of collectible cards led by the likes of the Pokemon Trading Card Game.

Speaking of rare MTG cards, there is a new one coming to the world later this year. The forthcoming set The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle Earth will feature an ultra rare, one-of-one foil-printed card known as The One Ring. This specific rare card will be printed in the Black Speech of Sauron.

This card is a Legendary Artifact with an absolutely bonkers effect.

“When The One Ring enters the battlefield, if you cast it, you gain protection from everything until your next turn”, reads the text. When tapping, players need to place a burden counter on the card and then draw cards equal to the burden counter.

This card will have regular versions printed but there will only be one foil-printed version in Black Speech. This card will be packed into booster packs so we expect a frenzy of sales when the series launches.

Whether The One Ring will prove to be as popular as the Black Lotus, remains to be see. We are of course doubtful that the card will earn sales as high as the Black Lotus purely for the fact that Black Lotus’ popularity wasn’t entirely manufactured by Wizards of the Coast like The One Ring is.