I often get asked what makes me a geek. My usual response? Intense passion for something. So yes, “being a geek” to me isn’t necessarily relegated to the genre medium of comic books, video games, etc. People who get really excited over sports are no different than people who get really excited about a collectable statue. And collectors, well they’re tangentially connected. Not all collectors do it for the money but when a huge score falls on your lap, it’s hard not to get really excited.
Case in point, the Youtube account OpenBoosters recently posted a video in which they opened a first edition set of Magic: The Gathering Cards (which sell for up to $6,000 these days). Having no idea what would be found inside, you can’t blame the man for losing his ever-loving shit when he turns over an Alpha Black Lotus card. In 2013, a mint-condition of this card sold for $27,302.
“The “Black Lotus” card is part of M:TG’s “Power Nine”– the nine most powerful cards printed in the early years of the game (“Ancestral Recall,” “Time Walk,” “Mox Sapphire,” “Mox Jet,” “Mox Ruby,” “Mox Emerald,” “Mox Pearl,” and “Timetwister” are the others). “Black Lotus” cards were printed for the Alpha, Beta and Unlimited sets, with the Alpha being the most valuable because there were only an estimated 1,100 copies printed (the Beta card set run is estimated at 3,300). Though valued for their rarity, Black Lotus cards have been banned from all official tournament styles except Vintage.”
Much like rare comics, Magic cards also can be graded for their quality. The previous record sale had a grade of 9.5 from Beckett Grading Services and OpenBoosters are intending to send their’s to BGS to see where it lands on the scale. Putting the huge windfall aside (if they even choose to sell it of course), this reaction is a great example of what loving something so intensely can feel like. Whether we express it on the outside or not.
(via Gawker)
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