By: Louie Chiang

Besides making hit music, pop star Post Malone has also become well-known in a special area of interest. He is a huge fan of a fantasy card game called Magic: The Gathering, and recently he bought a very special card in a record-breaking sale. This purchase is part of a growing trend that has made game cards just as popular as sports cards.

Post Malone bought a one-of-a-kind Magic card that shows the golden ring from the Lord of the Rings movies. He paid an incredible $2 million for it, marking the first time a Magic card has sold for such a high price.

“This is a big deal, like the first time a baseball card sold for a million dollars,” said Ken Goldin.

The purchase shows that Magic: The Gathering is a serious business for millions of collectors worldwide.

Trading card games (TCGs) have gained popularity for several important reasons. During the pandemic, many people went through their old collections of Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Magic cards and discovered their worth. This led to a huge demand for companies to check and grade the condition of these cards. Some companies even had to expand to keep up.

The release of new card sets with rare cards and the involvement of famous people in the trading card market have made the excitement even greater.

The number of graded TCG cards is now close to that of graded sports cards. Professional Sports Authenticator, the leading company that grades cards saw more than 514,000 TCG cards in July alone. This is five times more than just two years ago.

The involvement of popular celebrities like Post Malone and YouTube star Logan Paul has given game cards cultural significance. However, experts worry that if game card companies make too many rare cards, the prices might get too high, and the cards will lose their value.