One of the most infamous cards in the history of Magic: The Gathering, the Black Lotus, has just missed out on selling for a record price.

On Nov. 6, a Black Lotus card sold for $156,000 via Heritage Auctions. The card is part of the Limited Edition Alpha set, one of the earliest printed sets from Magic: The Gathering released by Wizards of the Coast in 1993. Beckett Grading Services gave the listed card a grading of nine out of 10 based on the card's centering, edges, corners and surface. Another Black Lotus card, graded half a point lower, was sold for $42,000 on the very same day. Despite a minimal difference in grading, there was a stark contrast in the end prices.

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The $156,000 this card sold for is just shy of the $166,000 a Black Lotus sold for on eBay in 2019. However, both of these pale in comparison to the $511,000 a signed Black Lotus card went for on Jan. 27. Signed by the card's illustrator, Christopher Rush, this Black Lotus copy was graded at GEM MT 10, Gem Mint Condition 10, the highest PSA grading given out to trading cards. It's unclear how much the difference in gradings affected each card's overall value, but Rush's signature had a significant impact on the final selling price.

The Black Lotus is part of the Power Nine cards, nine powerful cards printed in Magic: The Gathering's early years as part of the Alpha, Beta and Unlimited sets. These cards were the rarest pulls in each set, with just over 20,000 copies of each ever printed. Their sheer power led to Wizards of the Coast banning them in most competitive formats of Magic: The Gathering. Currently, Power Nine cards are restricted in the Vintage format, with only one copy of each card allowed per deck.

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For reference, The Black Lotus' description reads: "Adds 3 mana of any single color of your choice to your mana pool, then is discarded. Tapping this artifact can be played as an intercept." In the early Magic competitive scene, there were no restrictions on the number of cards permitted per deck. This allowed players to stack up on cards, such as the Black Lotus, and sweep their opponents quickly and efficiently.

The reputation of the Black Lotus remains strong, and its status as one of the most valuable trading cards in existence continues.

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Source: Heritage Auctions