Redditor Finds a FORTUNE in Discarded MTG Collection

Last updated on January 14, 2025

Amulet of Unmaking – Illustration by Kaja Foglio

It's the stuff Magic dreams are made of, but it happened for real this time: According to their two Reddit posts, a redditor stumbled upon a cache of old MTG cards worth thousands of dollars.

“So l picked up a metal storage container full of magic cards…” wrote u/xoxomonstergirl in the magicTCG subreddit, about what they found in a neatly arranged roadside free pile.

Source: Reddit

“We had just moved to the area,” they wrote “We furnished our entire house by hunting free piles since we moved from a 500 sq foot ish apartment, and I picked up some fun stuff along the way.”

The found cards were nice and dry and even sorted by color, but – due to other priorities, and because they assumed that the cards would be mostly draft chaff – it would take them about six months from finding to start sorting through the cards.

And that's when the surprises began.

The Haul

Treasure token – Illustration by Olena Richards

“Three big stacks of revised, two hefty stacks of revised basic lands, some misc other set basic lands,” u/xoxomonstergirl wrote about the first bunch of cards they went through. The next most common MTG set was Fallen Empires, then a much smaller stack of The Dark cards, Ice Age, and Legends.

“Looks like they go up to 2000 in terms of release,” they noted, “though the vast majority are from 1994-1995.”

Source: Reddit

Keen-eyed readers will certainly notice what seems to be a Demonic Tutor alter or proxy… although that's literally a Calvin & Hobbes cut-out comic glued onto the real card!

“Based on the stuff they were modified with – Calvin and Hobbes, final fantasy III, street fighter 2, etc – they were modified within a year or two of being originally opened,” notes u/xoxomonstergirl. “Likely another 10-12 year old like I was when I had these cards, or at least a teenager. They trickle out towards like 1999, very few cards past 1995.” This lines up with the age you’d expect for a middle schooler playing a bit, then moving out for college, and their cards sitting in their parents' attic for 25 years

By then, the Reddit post had hundreds of replies. When u/xoxomonstergirl asked if they should share more pics, an avalanche of “Yes, please!” ensued…

… and so did the pictures!

A small pile from Antiquities…

Source: Reddit

… Legends stuff…

Source: Reddit

… a handful of snow-covered and full-art lands…

Source: Reddit

… and red cards Revised, including two Wheels of Fortune!

Source: Reddit

Are These Legit?

One fairly reasonable concern among Redditors was, “Is this legit?”

A few wondered if these cards could perhaps have been thrown away by a thief (who may have stolen them, and then discarded what they thought wasn't valuable enough).

Others wondered if the valuable cards could be counterfeits.

Based on the user’s follow-up post, there was enough consensus from the community that the majority of the collection appeared to be entirely legitimate. Seasoned players offered tips on how to spot counterfeits—everything from the “green dot test” to examining the card’s borders, back, and texture—and the initial pictures seemed to confirm authenticity.

“Very very low crime rates out here, def an old collection,” said u/xoxomonstergirl about the possibility of foul play. “I know all my local stores, which are like a 45-minute drive from our rural town.”

But with the town being so small – about 1600 residents, and a long drive away from the nearest Walmart – and thanks to the encouragement from other redditors, u/xoxomonstergirl decided to trying to find out the person that had given these cards away and uncover the rest of the haul's backstory.

Contacting the Original Owner

u/xoxomonstergirl first step was to ask on the town's Facebook group.

Source: Reddit

And… it worked!

“It took a while,” they reported, “but I tracked down a lead.”

It turned out that the adult son of the woman cleaning out the house wanted to pass the cards on. The woman double-checked with her son and, even when he understood that some were likely pretty valuable, he encouraged her to pass everything on.

“I feel pretty good about us keeping and playing with them with our local playgroup,” u/xoxomonstergirl wrote, “though I would feel guilty if I flipped them all.”

The Real Treasure

Treasure Chest – Illustration by Dan Scott

As u/xoxomonstergirl and many of the threads' answers noted when looking at the pictures, the condition of the cards suggested that their original owner had loved playing but hadn’t prioritized preservation. None of the cards were sleeved, and many showed signs of wear.

Despite this, a quick evaluation using the TCGplayer app estimated the collection’s worth at over $4,200 if graded as “moderately played.” Realistically, selling the collection might yield $1,500 to $2,000, after accounting for market fluctuations and the challenges of finding buyers.

Source: Reddit

Yet it seems that u/xoxomonstergirl is in no hurry to sell them.

“Knowing he wanted them passed on kind of cements my feeling they should be played with,” they note. “If I sell some now it will likely be to fund new cards for the group that are easier for more people to play with.”

The cards will get double-sleeved and, at long last, going into a deck or two first.