![Alpha Black Lotus Gem Mint](http://media.techeblog.com/images/alpha-black-lotus-gem-mint.jpg)
For those not familiar with Magic the Gathering, it’s basically a trading card game created by Richard Garfield and first published in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic was the first trading card game produced and it continues to thrive. YouTube user “openboosters” managed to purchase some starter decks and booster packs from the game’s very first release, called “Alpha”, back when they first came out. Today, a single starter deck will set you back a cool $5,999 USD. He captured his latest opening on video, and managed to pull out one of the most valuable Magic cards yet. Continue reading to see the grade it received.
“To find a Black Lotus in one of these alpha decks – of which only 1100 were printed back in 1993 – is a rare and beautiful thing, with one of the unbalanced cards selling last year for just over $27,000. This one, freshly-opened and touched only by gloves, must surely be in the same ballpark,” says Kotaku. There is one up for auction right now, graded a BGS 9.5, that is selling for $37,888.