SP- IMO from that scan. I'm not a good source to value beta.
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Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
The card looks almost CE or IE, possible fake. Man I hate to say that because that would be horrible news to hear, but I just did an ultra zoom on the top of that card and it doesn't match the one's I have recorded..
I would surely take the 3 seconds to remove the card out of the case and present some clear scans. Only then can a member come in and express a true price quote.
Collector's Editions have straight corners and backplate gold borders, so it's not a CE/IE proxy. Even if the corners were cut with a precision tool and the borders painted there'd be inconsistencies within the edges of the material enough to warrant question (I've seen it done before, it is extremely difficult to replicate the rounded corner look and black border of a legitimate card without some kind of press cutter, which is out of the reach of many people).
I said CE or IE because we'rent sitting there watching this dude take the scan. The front could be a nipped corner CE/IE and the back could be a whole different card altogether in that case, I've seen so many of these posts that you never can tell, and I've seen so many fakes it's kind of crazy.
Now giving the poster the benefit of doubt is why I mention the "word" possible fake, to be blunt I'm just wondering why this poster hasn't taken the 4 minutes to get those additional scans up...I mean this topic can't end like this lol...we're talking about a Beta Lotus here!
Collector's Editions have straight corners and backplate gold borders, so it's not a CE/IE proxy. Even if the corners were cut with a precision tool and the borders painted there'd be inconsistencies within the edges of the material enough to warrant question (I've seen it done before, it is extremely difficult to replicate the rounded corner look and black border of a legitimate card without some kind of press cutter, which is out of the reach of many people).
Whatever you do don't bend it. Old cards (even real ones) can only take so much and will often break. IF your concerned about the cards legitimacy open the case and inspect it carefully with a 15x magnifier and look for the dots & the blue line, does it feel thick, do the light test, throw it in a deck and see if you can cut to it, put it face down with some beta lands and play 3 card monty to see if you can pick it out of the line up or better yet take it to a reputable dealer who knows beta cards but for the love of Richard Garfield don't be the next guy flush a k or more down the tubes by getting paranoid and creasing your lotus.
Assuming everything is on the up and up I would price as follows. MOTL currently doesnt have enough data to be of use. Turning to that auction site there are several high grade ones up at just under 4k so I would call that the absolute ceiling of the current market. Given that your lotus looks to me like it has some minor edge ware I would call it VF, Troll and toad has a VF+ one on that auction site right now for just over 3k bit. This is also the type of card where a decent part of the market is made up of collectors to whom the finer points of condition matters. Starcity is also sold out at 2k for SP and 2.5k for NM (and has been for a while) so we can call that the floor.
Given all that I would feel comfortable putting your lotus at the 2.5k mark though admittedly that is based on limited photos and assumes no other imperfections beyond the minor edge ware I mentioned. Finally with cards of this nature the price tends to fluctuate depending largely on market conditions at the given moment. How eager are you to sell quickly vs how long you will wait for a vintage pimp who just has to have it etc, who is in the market at the present time, etc etc. Finally I suspect if you were to have the card graded it could safely dispel any fear about it being fake but would add little to the value as I doubt it would get higher then a 7 or 7.5 which historically doesn't add much to the value since 6-7.5 cards are generally sought after by players rather then collectors.
Hope that helps.
Also don't stick it in the micro wave its 19 years old and might not stand up as well a 1 year old common (Ive made very real cards pop by cooking them before). Rider why do most of the tests I see online for cards involve destroying them
Most people can't tell real cards from fake. That's basically it. The fact that you might have several hundred dollars invested in the card, which would cloud your judgment, doesn't help. I have seen blatant fakes that people swore were real, cards that were too large to be real (a couple mm too big), didn't have the right print pattern, didn't have the right colors, had lines on them from printers (not the standard UL print line), cards that were bubbling up from rebacking. The average person just has no idea.
Most people can't tell real cards from fake. That's basically it. The fact that you might have several hundred dollars invested in the card, which would cloud your judgment, doesn't help. I have seen blatant fakes that people swore were real, cards that were too large to be real (a couple mm too big), didn't have the right print pattern, didn't have the right colors, had lines on them from printers (not the standard UL print line), cards that were bubbling up from rebacking. The average person just has no idea.
Hello, have you identified that this card has something wrong so that you think this is fake?:)
NM+/NM/NM-/SP+/SP/SP-/MP.. and what is the value of this card?
Thanks
Yes, there is some white spots flaw from top
I would surely take the 3 seconds to remove the card out of the case and present some clear scans. Only then can a member come in and express a true price quote.
I do hope that Beta Lotus is real bud,
S.M.
Collector's Editions have straight corners and backplate gold borders, so it's not a CE/IE proxy. Even if the corners were cut with a precision tool and the borders painted there'd be inconsistencies within the edges of the material enough to warrant question (I've seen it done before, it is extremely difficult to replicate the rounded corner look and black border of a legitimate card without some kind of press cutter, which is out of the reach of many people).
However, I do agree with S.M. that this Beta might be a fake. Read up on this: http://forums.starcitygames.com/showthread.php?9455-Fake-Beta-Black-Lotus-Amazing-Fake-read-inside-for-more. Beta Black Lotuses are notoriously known to be re-backed.
Re-scan the card out of its screwtop case and perform the tests. If it still seems legitimate we could definitely help you sort out its worth.
Ruin's Trading Post
Now giving the poster the benefit of doubt is why I mention the "word" possible fake, to be blunt I'm just wondering why this poster hasn't taken the 4 minutes to get those additional scans up...I mean this topic can't end like this lol...we're talking about a Beta Lotus here!
Oh nice link, I enjoyed the read
S.M.
Currently looking to buy miscut Homelands, (my wife thinks I'm crazy too).
Semper Gumby (Always Flexible)
But if it is real, what is the value?
Given all that I would feel comfortable putting your lotus at the 2.5k mark though admittedly that is based on limited photos and assumes no other imperfections beyond the minor edge ware I mentioned. Finally with cards of this nature the price tends to fluctuate depending largely on market conditions at the given moment. How eager are you to sell quickly vs how long you will wait for a vintage pimp who just has to have it etc, who is in the market at the present time, etc etc. Finally I suspect if you were to have the card graded it could safely dispel any fear about it being fake but would add little to the value as I doubt it would get higher then a 7 or 7.5 which historically doesn't add much to the value since 6-7.5 cards are generally sought after by players rather then collectors.
Hope that helps.
Also don't stick it in the micro wave its 19 years old and might not stand up as well a 1 year old common (Ive made very real cards pop by cooking them before). Rider why do most of the tests I see online for cards involve destroying them
Currently looking to buy miscut Homelands, (my wife thinks I'm crazy too).
Semper Gumby (Always Flexible)
Hello, have you identified that this card has something wrong so that you think this is fake?:)