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GUEST: I brought in 
Magic cards. My husband 
played Magic in the '90s.

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APPRAISER: Okay.

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GUEST: And at the time, he 
made a concerted effort to get 
whole sets. He played with his

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friends, and played 
in tournaments.

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APPRAISER: Okay.

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GUEST: But then I think he 
wanted to have a complete set.

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APPRAISER: Yep.

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GUEST: And so he would 
buy individual packs 
at the, at the store.

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APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.

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GUEST: Until he was able to 
put together a complete set. He 
traded for some of the cards,

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as well.

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APPRAISER: Magic: The Gathering 
was created in 1993 by Richard 
Garfield in collaboration

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with Wizards of the Coast. And 
it was actually considered the 
first trading-card game that

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started the craze. So, 
like, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, 
all those card games 
came afterwards, after

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the influence Magic had on 
the collecting community. Now, 
when Magic came out, it was

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first alpha limited set. Now, 
the alpha set consisted of 
295 cards, and then there was

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a second reissue called the 
beta limited set, and which you 
have here, all cards for the

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beta set, which, it was limited 
to 302 cards. Now, you've 
never played Magic or anything

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like that?

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GUEST: I haven't played-- 
my husband played.

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APPRAISER: Okay, so to give 
you the image, just pretend 
you're two dueling wizards, and

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you're going to be summoning 
some spells, you're going 
to be put, bringing out some

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creatures. And the whole point 
is each player starts with 
20 life points, and the whole

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goal is me, as a competing 
wizard, I want to say, "Oh, I 
want to drain your life points."

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So the first person to bring 
the other opponent to zero wins. 
Do you know why we have the

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binder open to this page with 
these nine particular cards?

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GUEST: No, I don't.

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APPRAISER: Okay. (imitates 
explosion): That's like mind...

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GUEST: (laughs)

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APPRAISER: This is referred to 
as "the power nine," and the 
reason why we call it the power

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nine is, these are 
literally the most powerful 
cards in existence in 
the Magic world. Now,

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today, the power nine are 
not allowed to be played in 
decks or anything like that.

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GUEST: Really?

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APPRAISER: Unless it's a vintage 
tournament. So all of these 
cards were printed in 1993

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as part of the beta set. And 
after that, they went into an 
unlimited printing. They just

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printed and printed and printed.

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GUEST: Oh.

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APPRAISER: So, by seeing the 
black border, the rounded 
corners, and the little white

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dots in the printing on 
each edge of the image?

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GUEST: Yeah.

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APPRAISER: That's how we're 
able to tell these are printed 
in 1993, part of the original

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set. If you had to guess, 
what do you think the 
value on nine cards is?

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GUEST: Couple of 
hundred dollars. Couple 
of hundred dollars.

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APPRAISER: Now, because 
they're ungraded-- now, 
the grade and condition 
of a card significantly

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affects the value. That's why 
we left it right in the binder, 
because I don't even want to

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breathe on them, let alone 
touch it, because the slightest 
nick, the slightest crease all

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affects the value. Looking at 
both sides of the cards, judging 
the wear, I would say they

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all probably range around an 
eight out of ten condition. 
You might have a 7.5 in there.

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But they've all been well taken 
care of. For the power nine 
right here, as they sit, without

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professional grading, at 
auction, you'd be looking 
at $50,000 to $75,000.

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GUEST: (chuckles): Oh, my gosh.

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APPRAISER: (laughs): Yeah, 
right? So out of that $50,000 
to $75,000, the black Lotus,

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which is, like, the crème de 
la crème-- that's the card 
everybody wants-- is $15,000

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to $20,000 in its 
current condition.

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GUEST: Okay.

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APPRAISER: The second card 
right here, the Mox Emerald, 
which is one of the five jewel

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cards that you can see here, 
is the rarest of them all. In 
its current shape, you'd be

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looking at about $8,000 to 
$12,000. Now, that's just 
this page of nine cards.

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GUEST: (laughs)

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APPRAISER: When it 
comes to the other cards 
that you have here...

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GUEST: Yeah.

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APPRAISER: If you look here, 
this card right there, Volcanic 
Island, now, that is what

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we refer to as a dual land 
or a dual mana card. The cool 
part about that card is, it

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was not included 
in the alpha set.

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GUEST: Mm-hmm.

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APPRAISER: It was only issued 
in the beta set. So, that's 
its first issue. That card

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alone, at auction in its 
current shape, would be 
between $5,000 and $10,000.

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GUEST: Huh.

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APPRAISER: And the remainder of 
the binder, for all the pages 
there-- 'cause they're all

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beta cards, they're all early 
1993 beta cards. You're looking 
at an additional $10,000 to

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$15,000.

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APPRAISER: (chuckles)

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APPRAISER: So cumulatively, 
you're looking, at auction, at 
between $65,000 and $100,000

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in trading cards here.

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GUEST: Oh, my gosh.

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APPRAISER: So, see? Aren't 
you happy you didn't lose 
them in your backpack?

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GUEST: I am happy. 
(both laughing)

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APPRAISER: Would you 
have ever expected your 
husband's trading cards...

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GUEST: No, because they're 
just, like, they're cards to me.

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APPRAISER: Yeah, now, this is, 
like, "Let's send the kids to 
college" kind of money right

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here.

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GUEST: That's exactly, the 
college savings right here.

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APPRAISER: Yeah, it's 
literally the best culmination 
of Magic cards I've ever 
seen in one setting.

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Like, it's absolutely 
ridiculous.

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GUEST: Oh, wow.

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APPRAISER: That's why when 
you came up to the stall, I 
was, like... (imitates heart

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racing): Looking at the... 
Looking at the binder, 
I was, like, "Whew!" 
In the marketplace,

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this is hotter than fire. 
The demand for these 
cards is uncontrollable. 
And you would absolutely

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sell them individually. Because 
if I'm at home, and I have 
five out of the nine cards,

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I don't need to buy all nine-- 
that's a ton of money. I just 
need that one or two extra

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card.

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GUEST: Right.

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APPRAISER: Power nine, baby-- 
unbelievable. For me, this is 
like looking at a painting.

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Like, you go to the museum, 
it's, like, "Oh, a Renoir."

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GUEST: (laughs)