Alpha Ancestral Recall Pulled on "Pawn Stars" and Certified by CGC Cards Sells for Five Figures

Magic: The Gathering cards from a Limited Edition Beta deck opened on “Pawn Stars,” which were later certified by CGC Cards™, sold for more than $42,000 total in a recent CertifiedLink auction. Among the CGC-certified cards was an Alpha Limited Edition Ancestral Recall graded CGC Pristine 10 that sold for $38,500, making it one of the most expensive Magic cards ever sold.

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In the recent episode of “Pawn Stars Do America,” a customer approached longtime cast member Chumlee with a sealed Magic: The Gathering Limited Edition Beta deck. Chumlee and the customer agreed to a price of $25,000 outright and, if a Black Lotus were to be pulled from the deck, they would split that card’s profit 50/50. Matt Quinn, Vice President of CGC Cards, was also present to witness and authenticate the cards that were pulled.

At the time when Wizards of the Coast was to begin distributing Beta, there were some leftover sheets of rares from the Limited Edition Alpha set, which were used in the beginning of Beta’s production run to fill some rare slots in decks and other products. Alpha Limited Edition cards can be differentiated from their Beta Edition counterparts by their corners. Beta cards have less rounded corners than those in Alpha Edition.

Upon opening the sealed Beta Edition deck, a Black Lotus wasn’t present, but there was a high-grade Ancestral Recall, one of the coveted Power Nine cards. It, along with the other cards in the deck, were sent to CGC Cards for authentication, grading and encapsulation. Thirty-one of these cards were featured in the CertifiedLink sale.

Other cards from the Beta Limited Edition deck that were certified by CGC Cards and featured in the sale included:

• a Two-Headed Giant of Foriys, Magic: The Gathering (1993) Limited Edition Alpha graded CGC Gem Mint 10 that sold for $2,101
• a Benalish Hero, Magic: The Gathering (1993) Limited Edition Beta graded CGC Gem Mint 10 that sold for $130
• a Fire Elemental, Magic: The Gathering (1993) Limited Edition Beta graded CGC Gem Mint 10 that sold for $130
• a Frozen Shade, Magic: The Gathering (1993) Limited Edition Beta graded CGC Gem Mint 10 that sold for $111
• a Llanowar Elves, Magic: The Gathering (1993) Limited Edition Beta graded CGC Gem Mint 10 that sold for $111

Note: At the time some of these cards were graded, they were encapsulated with the original CGC Cards label. Starting July 11, 2023, CGC Cards began encapsulating cards with the new CGC Cards label. In addition to the new label, collectors enjoy many other benefits with CGC Cards, such as the ability to submit without purchasing a membership and an industry-standard Gem Mint 10 Grading Scale. For more information, go here.