Game: Magic: The Gathering
Set: Unlimited (and others)
Card: Mox Sapphire
What makes it special? Mox Sapphire is part of the Power Nine, some of the most powerful cards in Magic: The Gathering. The Power Nine were printed in the Alpha, Beta and Unlimited versions of the 1993 sets. Mox Sapphire allows players to cheat the one land per turn rule by turning itself into an extra blue mana when tapped. This mana acceleration technique caused players to gain an unfair advantage, which subsequently resulted in the card being banned in Commander and Legacy and restricted in Vintage.
Did you know? There are five cards in the Mox series: Mox Sapphire, Mox Emerald, Mox Pearl, Mox Ruby, and Mox Jet. All five Moxes were illustrated by Dan Frazier and released in the 1993 Alpha, Beta and Unlimited editions. Dan Frazier based the cards and his artwork on a real jewelry set he received from a fan named Victor Gonzales.
Total graded by CGC Trading Cards: As of September 2022, there are 50 graded examples of Mox Sapphire from the Unlimited Edition in the CGC Population Report. There are also 22 in the Collectors' Edition, 9 in the International Edition, 9 in the Alpha Edition, 20 in the Beta Edition, and 1 graded Press Check Edition.
CGC Trading Cards median grade: Between CGC 5.5 and CSG 6 for Unlimited
CGC Trading Cards highest graded: CGC 9 for Unlimited (4 examples)
Sales highlights: A Mox Sapphire from the Unlimited Edition graded CGC 8 realized $4,200 in a Heritage Sale in November 2021. A Mox Sapphire from the Beta Edition graded CGC 5 realized $9,000 in a Heritage Sale in May 2022. A Mox Sapphire from the Alpha Edition graded CGC 4.5 realized $13,800 in a Heritage Sale in March 2022.
CGC Trading Cards Registry: As of August 2022, there are examples of the Mox Sapphire card in the top and third-ranked Unlimited Edition sets in the CGC Trading Cards Registry. These include a CGC 8 in the top set, Unlimited 1 by Blackmask, and a CGC 9 in the third-ranked set, Random P9 by Willyc25. There are also examples in the top Alpha Edition and Beta Edition sets.
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