Sad you missed out on the 'One Ring' card? Here are a few other precious collectibles
The 'One Ring' is a one-of-a-kind collectible card created for the table-top fantasy game Magic: The Gathering and is expected to fetch $1 million-plus for its Ontario owner. (Professional Sports Authenticator)There may only be one 'One Ring' card, but as J.R.R. Tolkien wrote, "Oft hope is born when all is forlorn." There are other collectibles that are similarly precious. The special, one-of-a-kind card was created for the table-top fantasy game Magic: The Gathering as part of a collection celebrating J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of The Rings novels. The card, depicting the all-powerful ring with its gold lettering, was recently found by a retail worker in Toronto who has chosen to remain anonymous.It could fetch millions of dollars, with one Spanish card reseller offering 2 million euros ($2.89 million Cdn) for the card. WATCH | One card to rule them all: 'One Ring' Magic card worth millions bought in Canada1 day agoDuration 1:59Someone in Toronto has bought a card from the role playi
There may only be one 'One Ring' card, but as J.R.R. Tolkien wrote, "Oft hope is born when all is forlorn." There are other collectibles that are similarly precious.
The special, one-of-a-kind card was created for the table-top fantasy game Magic: The Gathering as part of a collection celebrating J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of The Rings novels. The card, depicting the all-powerful ring with its gold lettering, was recently found by a retail worker in Toronto who has chosen to remain anonymous.
It could fetch millions of dollars, with one Spanish card reseller offering 2 million euros ($2.89 million Cdn) for the card.
One does not simply walk into a windfall like that every day, but there are other collectibles that have fetched big amounts.
Here are four other Canadian-connected items with eye-popping price tags, just in case you have one of these kicking around.
Prince's disavowed album
Prince ordered more than 500,000 copies of The Black Album destroyed just before the album's planned release in late 1987 after he decided it was "evil," according to online music marketplace Discogs.
The late superstar had initially planned it as a surprise followup to his pop-oriented double album Sign o' the Times, insisting there be no title or name on the cover and no advance promotion.
Although bootlegs flourished, The Black Album wouldn't get an official release until 1994, when Warner gave it a limited run.
Original copies from the '80s run are exceedingly rare: one sold at auction in February 2018 for about $55,900 Cdn.
A Canadian-made vinyl copy saved by a pressing plant employee sold for more than $30,000.
Prince's Black Album holds the No. 2 and 3 all-time slots on Discogs most-expensive list, behind only Choose Your Weapon, an album by British electronic music producer Scaramanga Silk that has only 20 copies.
Wayne Gretzky's rookie card
To really cash in on No. 99, you need a card that ranks 100.
Wayne Gretzky's 1979 O-Pee-Chee rookie card was hockey's first to cost more than $1 million US at auction, back in late 2020, when it fetched $1.29 million. Another of the same card sold the following year for a whopping $3.75 million.
"Gretzky is the greatest of all time," Chris Ivy of Heritage Auctions said after the first sale. "This is his rookie card, and then add onto all that it's O-Pee-Chee, which is the Canadian version, and is highly sought after."
The online auction house said the trading cards, which feature The Great One in his Edmonton Oilers uniform during the team's final World Hockey Association (WHA) season before the franchise joined the NHL, were the two with No. 99 from O-Pee-Chee's 1979 run to receive a perfect "gem mint" score from the Professional Sports Authenticator grading service.
Ivy said it's extremely rare to find a Gretzky rookie card from O-Pee-Chee, which was essentially the Canadian arm of U.S.-based Topps, in perfect condition because of production issues in the late 1970s.
"Ninety per cent of the cards as they came out of the factory wouldn't be considered 'gem mint' by today's grading standards," Ivy said.
The all-time sports card record is held by a mint condition Mickey Mantle baseball card that sold for $12.6 million last summer.
Star Wars Yak Face figurine
May the Yak Face be with you, because he could be worth thousands.
This Kenner action figure from Return of the Jedi was only released in Canada and Australia as the craze for Star Wars was dying down in 1985. The Canadian version has a bilingual backing card.
It's easy to find Yak Face for sale online for hundreds or thousands depending on the condition of its packaging, and U.S. collectibles auctioneer Heritage Auctions says one sold on eBay for $20,000 in 2016.
Queen Victoria stamp
A stamp featuring the image of a young Queen Victoria sold for $292,500 Cdn at an Ottawa auction earlier this year. Not bad for 12 cents.
Issued more than 170 years ago in 1851, the auctioned 12-Penny Black stamp was considered to be in pristine condition — and one of only two known in that condition.
Only about 1,450 were sold at the time so it's a rare gem, said Peter MacDonald, the general manager of Sparks Auctions.
MacDonald said hundreds of bidders participated in the sale on Jan. 21, online and from around the world. An "enthusiastic group of bidders" came in person to the Ottawa office, as well, he added.
He said in 2017 the auction house sold a similar stamp that had been attached to this 12-Penny Black stamp on a sheet; it sold for $327,000.
MacDonald said the 12-penny stamp was expensive for its time. He said at today's prices, it would set you back about $16.40.
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