A rare card from Magic: The Gathering’s first set, Limited Edition Alpha, has recently been sold for a whopping $105,000 at PWCC’s January Premier Auction. The BGS 10 Lord of the Pit received an almost perfect score in 10 subgrades with an Edge grade of 9.5, making it the only Alpha Lord of the Pit to have ever received this grade among the 84 graded examples by the company. In fact, many cards produced today do not even grade Pristine 10 out of the pack. To have a card from 1993 in almost untouched condition is definitely a rarity.
The Lord of the Pit card, slabbed by Beckett Grading Services (BGS), is also the highest-priced non-Black Lotus graded Magic: The Gathering card ever sold at public auction. However, the record for any MTG card is still held by the PSA 10 Black Lotus that sold for a whopping $511,100 two years ago in January 2021. This specific card was signed by the late artist Christopher Rush.
A first-print Lord of the Pit in Pristine condition is almost impossible to come by. This is one of the most powerful monster cards released in the Alpha printing, so it’s rare to find a copy that hasn’t sustained damage due to heavy play. Peter Petipas, Manager of TCGs at PWCC Marketplace, said in an email provided by the company.
The card’s previous owner and collection were not revealed, but we know it was sold through online auction house PWCC. It is the first time a BGS Pristine 10 Alpha Lord of the Pit has been auctioned, and it has fetched an impressive amount.
We reached out to PWCC for more information on the consignor of this card and the purchaser, but both parties declined interviews at this time. We have previously been able to add insight into these landmark sales through interviews with those behind these collections, and we will be keeping a close eye for further information.
At the time of writing, the PWCC February Premier auction has not been posted yet, but we do know that the closest current comparable card on the site is a BGS 10 (POP 4) Beta Mox Sapphire. Although one set “newer,” the moxen of Magic: The Gathering are often only second to the Black Lotus in desirability and scarcity. It is currently listed with a Fixed Price of $49,000.
