A collectable card player has become an overnight multi-millionaire by opening a pack of Magic: The Gathering cards and discovering a rare collectable card worth $3.3 million.
The card, which is part ofMagic: The Gatherng’scollaboration with Lord of the Rings, is the rarest Magic: The Gathering card ever created. It’s been authenticated by the Professional Sports Authenticator, the leading authenticator of Magic: The Gathering cards, as fans and collectors alike put in eye-watering bids to own it.
The launch of the highly anticipated collaboration made for frantic scenes as card collectors purchased thousands of packets of cards in the hopes of picking up the single “One Ring” card.
Now that it’s been discovered, the tiny and precious piece of cardboard is expected to fetch a stunning price at auction — if its finder is willing to sell, that is.
Offers from around the world have begun rolling in, ranging from $100,000 all the way past $3 million.
The highest bid so far was placed by the owner of a Spain-based cards store, who promised €2 million (A$3.3 million) and a trip to Valencia in exchange for the one-of-a-kind card before it had even been found, according to the Wall Street Journal.
If the card sells for that price, it still won’t come close to being the most expensive collectable card on record. That title belongs to an extremely rare Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps rookie card, which sold in August last year for a staggering $US12.6 million ($A18.9 million).
The Magic: The GatheringLord of the Rings: Tales from Middle Earth set has been on shelves for just a few weeks, with players and collectors rushing to snap up Collector Boosters of the set, which contained the elusive One Ring card.
It was one of the most highly anticipatedMagic: The Gathering collaborations in three decades, cementing Wizards of the Coast, the makers of the game, as a billion-dollar brand. It’s now owned by US toymaker Hasbro which also produces Transformers, Monopoly, Play-Doh and Twister games.
Rebecca Shepard, Wizards of the Coast director of global brand strategy, said the hugely popular collectibles came to fore thanks to their founders’ personal interests.
“When we first started thinking about the kernel of the idea of what Universes Beyond has become, we listed IPs that we ourselves loved. We started with books, games, shows, movies, etc. that we were truly fans of and that inspired our own work,” Ms Shepard told Channel 9.
“We wanted to ensure that whoever we worked with was an authentic partnership that we believed in, that mapped to our game and brand values.
“The Lord of the Rings is the most epic high-fantasy story, so it felt only natural that working with the folks at Middle-earth Enterprises should be one of our first partnerships.”
Collaborations like the one with the Lord of the Rings publisher also helped to bring in new collector audiences, Ms Shepard said.
“Seeing characters and worlds like The Lord of the Rings entices them to want to play with Magic players in their homes, friend groups, communities,” Ms Shepard said.
The discovery of the rare One Ring card comes ahead of another highly anticipated collaboration, this time between Magic: The Gathering and UK sci-fi series Doctor Who, set to be released on October 13.
“We had some very passionate Doctor Who fans working on these cards so every detail is beyond flavourful and handled with a ton of care,” Ms Shepard said.
“We’re celebrating 60 years of Doctor Who so you will be able to find your favourite doctor, Companion, or villain.
“Our goal is to create amazing play experiences for our players and their fans.”