As a new initiative, we at The Card Collective will give an update each month on the most notable sales on PWCC Premier auction for readers interested in following market trends in collectibles.
As we mostly deal in Magic-, Pokémon- and Soccer cards, we will focus our updates on these cards, but we might include sales from other categories, if they catch our interest.
1993 Magic The Gathering MTG Unlimited Black Lotus PSA 10 GEM MINT ($42,000)
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The first card to catch our eyes was the PSA 10 Unlimited Black Lotus from 1993. The card sold for $42,000, thus increasing from its previous value of $33,099, which it sold for in September 2019. In 2019, the card was described as "Among the Finest Investment Pieces in the Market", and while this is generally true for Black Lotus in Magic, based only on the grade, one might have expected the card to fetch a better price in the current market. The final price of $42,000, is a great case for the old saying "Buy the card, not the grade". As seen on the images, the back side of the Black Lotus has some whitening on the upper right corner, as well as a print dot on the bottom black border. Thus, even though the card has been given a PSA 10 grade, the card has some errors and small sign of damage, resulting in it being less desirable for collectors of PSA 10 cards. Furthermore, Unlimited's big brother, a BGS 8 Alpha Black Lotus sold for $96,000. Before the auction we would have guessed a final price of around $110,000, so while not an amazing price Alpha Black Lotus is still holding strong as the premier investment piece in Magic: the Gathering.
1993 MAGIC THE GATHERING MTG ALPHA VESUVAN DOPPELGANGER R B BGS 9.5 GEM MINT ($63,000)
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The other Magic card we have chosen for this month, is the BGS 9.5 Alpha Vesuvan Doppelganger, that sold for $63,000. Out of more than 100 cards submitted for grading, BGS has given only five examples of Vesuvan Doppelganger a 9.5, resulting in this card being highly sought after by collectors and investors. With the iconic art from Quinton Hoover this is a favorite amongst collectors and together with bad centering and surface issues haunting copies the chances we will ever see a BGS 9.5 graded again is very low. Owning one of the cards with the highest given grade by BGS is naturally very desirable, as no other collector can claim to have a better copy to complete an Alpha set. Furthermore, as with the Black Lotus, Vesuvan Doppelganger is on Wizards of the Coast's Reserved List, meaning that the card will never be reprinted. As a result, this Vesuvan Doppelganger is the most expensive Vesuvan Doppelganger ever to sell on PWCC.
1999 POKEMON BASE SET SHADOWLESS 1ST EDITION HOLO CHARIZARD #4 CGC 9.5 GEM MINT ($27,600)
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As it has done several times before, Charizard strikes again. This CGC 9.5 Base Set Shadowless 1st Edition Holo Charizard sold for $27,600, a surprisingly low price for a 9.5 Base Set Charizard. No other CGC 9.5 Base Set Shadowless 1st Edition Holo Charizards have been sold on PWCC, but BGS 9.5's have sold for around $60,000 through 2020, 2021 and 2022. This shows that CGC Graded cards are still less desired by collectors to fetch a premium, when compared to both BGS and PSA counterparts. Furthermore, when it comes to Pokémon cards, an incredible difference is to be expected between a card with a 9.5 grade, and the same card with a 10 grade. For Pokémon collectors, the 10 grade is almost required, and similarly hard to attain, thus resulting in a huge price gap between the two grades. Still $27,600 is a strong start to 2023 and it will be interesting to see how 1st edition Charizard trends through the year since the card is often on auction in different grades throughout the year.
2021 POKEMON JAPANESE CREATURES DECK CORPORATE HISTORY BETA CHANSEY PSA 9 ($31,200)
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In December 2021, Creatures Inc. celebrated Pokémon’s 25th anniversary with the Corporate History Deck. The 30-card set was distributed to Pokémon TCG illustrators, Creatures staff members, and other Pokémon affiliates, with each card representing a different year in the TCG’s history. This card commemorates 1995, the year Creatures started developing the Pokémon TCG. To this day, PSA has graded only 27 examples of the Corporate History Beta Chansey, making this PSA 9 incredibly rare, resulting in the card sellign for $31,200.
2019 TOPPS CHROME BUNDESLIGA GOLD REFRACTOR ERLING HAALAND ROOKIE /50 #72 PSA 10 ($22,800)
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While Erling Haaland is taking the Premier League by storm his cards are also now featured in the Premier auction. As one of the most hyped soccer players of the last few years, it is no wonder that this numbered Rookie Erling Haaland card sold for $22,800. However, back in August 2022, a similar card, numbered 47/50 instead of 25/50, sold for $24,000, outperforming the newest sale by $1,200. The value of the 47/50 card has presumably dropped significantly since 2021, where it sold for a whopping $41,000, falling to almost half its previous value. Sportcards has taken the biggest hit since the highs of early 2021 and this sale proves that the sportscard market did get a litttle to hot to handle. It is going to be interesting following how the market recovers but depending on if Haaland keeps up his incredible form at Manchester City, his cards are still something to keep an eye out for. Now is the time for deals to be made.
2014 PANINI PRIZM WORLD CUP GOLD CRISTIANO RONALDO /10 #161 PSA 10 GEM MINT ($50,400)
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Last but certainly not least, a 2014 World Cup Gold Cristiano Ronaldo sold for $50,400, placing the card 12th on the all time most expensive Cristiano Ronaldo card sold on PWCC, despite Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portuguese National Team not having a noteworthy tournament, failing to make in into knockout stage, despite being paired in Group G with Germany, USA and Ghana. Portugal lost out on goal difference, primarily due to a 4-0 defeat to Germany, a goal difference Cristiano Ronaldo could have improved, had he scored more than 1 goal in the 3 games in the group stage. Despite the disappointing performance in the given World Cup, a rare Cristiano Ronaldo collectible will always sell for a high price, given his status as one of the best soccer players of all time.
Other notable sales
Other noteworthy sales during the February 2023 Premier Auction include an autographed PSA 10 2003 Exquisite Collection Limited Logos LeBron James RC Patch Card, that sold for an incredible $504,000, a price that might have been increased by LeBron James breaking the all-time scoring record in the NBA while the auction was taking place.
Another card selling for a high price was the 2000 Bowman Chrome Refractor Tom Brady ROOKIE #236 PSA 10 GEM MINT, that sold for $336,000. During the bidding on this card, Tom Brady announced his (second) retirement from the NFL, which presumably caused the card to increase in value, resulting in the high selling price.
