Magic the Gathering will be more like Magic the Departing as fans receive the news that the rarest of rare cards — so rare that only one exists -— has been found.
Literally a one-of-a-kind, the One Ring card was found by an unnamed collector when opening a booster pack of Magic the Gathering: Lord of the Rings cards, as reported just hours ago by The Gamer. It was believed that the card might be found by a kid who did not comprehend its value and potentially not take care of the card — which would devalue it greatly. However, the card business is more for adults than children these days, and the one who found this card immediately placed it in a protective card case and was able to get it officially graded.
There is also already an offer of $1 million dollars for the card by Dave & Adam’s Card World. They made that offer earlier this month and have recently tweeted that they spoke to the attorney of the card owner and how to contact them if anyone wants to make a larger offer.
If that sale goes through, the One Ring would become the highest-selling card in game-card history but still would only dwarf several sports cards, including the $12.6 million dollar sale of a 1952 Topps card of Yankees legend Mickey Mantle, which is the most expensive trading card ever sold.
So, what does this all mean for the sales of Magic the Gathering: Lord of the Rings card packs and boxes? Well, it means they’re significantly more affordable now.
They were released only a week ago and rose in price to a general listing of $480. Each box consists of 12 packs of cards and each pack contains 15 cards. So, buyers were essentially paying $40 per pack, which amounts to $2.66 per card.
Now, prices have dropped by over $100 while writing this article. We found one seller who has listed the box on eBay for just $70. That’s $5.83 per pack, which amounts to .39 cents per card. That’s an 85% drop in one day.
However, although some sellers will want to get rid of the boxes for a cheap price, it’s more likely that the boxes will generally sell for about half their original price.
True fans of the game are likely happy to be able to buy the cards at more affordable prices, though they obviously would’ve preferred that multi-million dollar prize.