Non-Sports

Would You Rather: Own This Gem MT Charizard or a Black Lotus?

The market for non-sports and trading game cards seems to be growing and growing. Many of the prices have grown and grown as well. Two of the most sought trading game cards are competing head-to-head in an upcoming Heritage Auctions event for March 4-5. This represents an opportunity to own a Black Lotus from Magic: The Gathering or the buyers can go after the Charizard from the original Pokemon card game.

While the graded examples are very different between the two, there is still a BGS 10 Pristine graded Black Lotis that is for sale outside of Heritage that might look more like a head-to-head comparison. The big question here for any of these trophy trading card game issues is whether they will be targeted by investors or if they will be targeted by collectors.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates high-end collectibles as an alternative asset class. It may seem odd to think of a Pokemon or MTG card in the same light as stocks and bonds, but when people are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars it’s frankly undeniable that this is an alternative asset. Another issue is that collectors with a deep passion often to compete directly against investors whose only desire is to make a profit in the future.

THE CHARIZARD

The PSA population of a PSA GEM MT 10 Charizard 1st edition is 121. The card has a current Heritage Auctions bid of $220,000.00, but that also represents $264,000.00 after the buyer’s premium. It actually has 65 bids with about two days remaining.

According to Heritage, this is THE Charizard card to own. It said:

The card that will instantly become the centerpiece of your collection! Offered here is arguably the hottest card in the entire hobby, a 1st edition Base Set Charizard, and it’s graded a PSA GEM MT 10. Yes, you read that right, GEM MT 10! Charizard is the final evolved form of Charmander, and if you watched the Indigo series, you might recall Charmander as kind and innocent. But as soon as he evolved into Charmeleon, everything changed. Charmeleon was rebellious, did not listen to Ash’s commands, and things only got worse when he evolved into Charizard…. The artwork is by Mitsuhiro Arita. PSA has certified 121 copies earning GEM MINT 10 grade.

Image below by Heritage Auctions

Charizard PSA 10

AND THE BLACK LOTUS (OR LOTI?)

As noted in the introduction, Heritage’s Black Lotus is a BGS 9. The 10 Pristine grade is elsewhere as you will see below. We would also point out that the latter Pristine example has been on the market.

Heritage Auctions’ Black Lotus Beta example is graded as a BGS 9 and there are only two Black Lotus Beta examples that have graded 10 Pristine with Beckett. That card recently had a bid of $43,000.00 that represents $51,600.00 after the buyer’s premium. This is after 27 bids and two days remaining. It has been graded by BGS with the following sub-grades: centering (9.5), edges (9), corners (8.5), and surface (9).

Heritage said of this card specifically:

Featured here is a rare opportunity to purchase the most sought-after trading card in existence, Black Lotus. The card is part of the most powerful group of cards in the entire game, known as the Power Nine. The nine cards can’t win you a game, but they sure do make things a lot easier! By playing the Black Lotus, you can add 3 mana of any color; imagine if you could play it your first turn? This particular card is from the Beta Edition, meaning the print run was 3,000 copies… The artwork is done by Christopher Rush. BGS has certified 97 copies earning MINT 9 grade and 61 graded higher.

One of the BGS 10 Pristine examples is currently available at vintagemagic.com for a buy it now price of $505,888.88. That site specializes in high-end cards and also sells original artwork.

If this one Black Lotis from Heritage above isn’t good enough, there is an Alpha Edition rather than a Beta Edition example. The Magic: The Gathering Black Lotus Alpha Edition Trading Card (Wizards of the Coast, 1993) is graded CGC VG/Ex+ 4.5. Its bid of $37,000.00 is actually $44,400.00 after the buyer’s premium. It has the following CGC sub-grades: centering (9), surface (4), corners (5), and edges (5).

BACK TO COMPS & ELSEWHERE

We wanted to see how the Charizard sells compared to a listing of a Beckett graded 10. Here are the cards to know in this Heritage Auction:

  • Pokémon Charizard #4 First Edition Base Set Trading Card (Wizards of the Coast, 1999) CGC Mint 9 with a current bid of $15,500.00 after 33 bids and two days remaining.
  • Pokémon Charizard #4 First Edition Base Set Trading Card (Wizards of the Coast, 1999) PSA Mint 9 with a current bid of $14,000.00 after 27 bids and two days remaining.
  • Magic: The Gathering Black Lotus Unlimited Edition Trading Card (Wizards of the Coast, 1993) BGS NM-MT+ 8.5 with a current bid of $9,750.00 after 27 bids and two days remaining.

TAKING A BREAK FOR BREAKERS

Pack breaks are synonymous with high end card collecting with the idea of finding that one particular high-grade card in mint condition safely sealed. Here are the examples that are reaching high prices in this auction:

Pokémon First Edition Base Set Sealed Booster Box (Wizards of the Coast, 1999) with a current bid of $155,000.00 after 50 bids and two days left.

Magic: The Gathering Unlimited Edition Starter Deck Sealed Box (Wizards of the Coast, 1993) with a current bid of $130,000.00 after 23 bids and two days left.

The most important cards in collecting are the ones with the lowest population in the highest grade. Charizard and the Black Lotus cards are presented in this auction in some of their finest forms and graded by reputable grading services. For sake of interest in either Collectors Dashboard will be following this auction closely as collectors invest in high end examples of what collectors want.