Quinn’s Auction Galleries will forge ahead in their 30th year with a live gallery auction dedicated to the Michael A. Quigley collection of Wizards of the West Coast Magic: The Gathering trading cards. The May 15, 2025, auction is open for absentee bidding through Quinn’s online catalog now through 11:40 AM ET on auction day, at which point all absentee bids will be executed competitively against live bidders in the gallery and those participating online via LiveAuctioneers and Invaluable.

Magic: The Gathering is enormously popular with collectors and the gaming community. The tabletop and digital card game was created in 1993 by Richard Garfield, initially as Wizards of the Coast. It was the first trading card game, and during the years 2008 through 2016, more than 20 billion Magic cards were produced.

Magic generates over $1 billion in revenue annually, with much of that coming from the cards viewed as collectibles, both past and present. The Quigley collection spans the gaming phenomenon’s history from its introduction with the limited edition Alpha deck through the 2020s. With approximately 50 million players worldwide, there is no shortage of buyers for the wildly popular collector cards. According to Quinn’s Sr VP Matthew Quinn, intense bidding competition is expected as the auction advances toward its close. “For example, there are already eleven bids on a group of 89 Magic: The Gathering Limited Edition Beta Swamp (B) Basic Land cards,” Quinn noted.

The auction’s headliner is lot #33, a very rare, limited edition Alpha factory-sealed starter deck, which has a case with magnetic lid. It is expected to attract a winning bid of $50,000-$70,000.

Lot #81 is a limited edition Beta Volcanic Island card PSA 4. The card has a presale estimate of $2,000-$4,000.

Lot #220 is an example of The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale card PSA 8.0, from the Legends Expansion Set. It is entered in the auction with a $2,000-$4,000 estimate. Lot #111 is an Arabian Nights Expansion Set Bazaar of Baghdad card PSA 7. It is expected to realize $1,000 to $2,000.

Lot #52, a limited edition Beta Time Vault card PSA 6 should bring $800-1,200. Because the Quigley collection is so comprehensive, there are sets and cards to please every pocketbook. Lot #215 is a Legends Expansion Set Moat/Fossato Italian Beckett card graded 9.5. Estimate:  $400 to $600. A similar estimate applies to lot #207, a Legends Expansion Set Chains of Mephistopheles card PSA 7.

Group lots are led by lot #29, a collection of 252 limited edition Alpha cards. The lot estimate is $3,000-$4,000. The grouping includes the following, with quantities preceding each card: three Animate Artifact, eight Benalish Hero, Black Ward, three Blue Elemental Blast, three Blue Ward, three Bog Wraith, two Burrowing, six Castle, two Celestial Prism, five Circle of Protection: Blue, eight Circle of Protection: Green, seven Circle of Protection: Red, four Circle of Protection: White, Consecrate Land, two Conservator, three Conversion, six Craw Wurm, eight Creature Bond, two Crystal Rod, Cursed Land, three Death Ward, two Deathgrip, eight Disintegrate, Drain Life, eight Drudge Skeletons, two Dwarven Demolition Team, seven Dwarven Warriors, Earth Elemental, two Evil Presence, three False Orders, seven Fear, five Firebreathing, two Flashfires, three Flight, 11 Fog, four Giant Growth, six Giant Spider, two Glasses of Urza, six Gray Ogre, Green Ward, seven Grizzly Bears, nine Guardian Angel, nine Healing Salve, eight Hill Giant, 11 Holy Armor, ten Holy Strength, four Howl from Beyond, eight Hurloon Minotaur, two Instill Energy, four Invisibility, six Iron Star, three Ironclaw Orcs, six Ironroot Treefolk, three Ivory Cup, four Jump, five Karma, Keldon Warlord, two Lance, two Ley Druid, two Lifeforce, Lifetap, Living Wall, four Lure, five Merfolk of the Pearl Trident, five Mesa Pegasus, 12 Mons’s Goblin Raiders, Nettling Imp, Obsianus Golem, and seven Paralyze.

Lot #120 is a group of Arabian Knights Expansion Set cards, approximately 800 in total. They include three Abu Ja’far, two Aladdin, Aladdin’s Lamp, Aladdin’s Ring, three Bottle of Suleiman. two Dancing Scimitar, three Island Fish Jasconius, two Junun Efreet, ten Merchant Ship. Mijae Djinn, two Pyramids, Repentant Blacksmith, eight Sinbad, and three Stone-Throwing Devils. Lot estimate: $800-$1,200

Lot #68 is a group of limited edition Beta cards, approximately 1,000 cards total, including Air Elemental, three Animate Wall, three Basalt Monolith, 15 Black Ward, 24 Blue Elemental Blast, 13 Blue Ward, 19 Burrowing, five Castle, eight Celestial Prism, three Channel, 21 Conservator, two Control Magic, 13 Conversion, 37 Craw Wurm, 13 Crystal Rod, six Cursed Land, seven Death Grip, two Deathlace, five Disenchant, Drain Life, ten Dwarven Demolition Team, 13 Earth Elemental, 75 Earthbind, 15 Feedback, nine Evil Presence, five Fire Elemental, and one Fireball. Estimate: $1,000-$2,000

Quinn’s Thursday, May 15 auction of the Michael A. Quigley collection of Wizards of the West Coast Magic: The Gathering trading cards is a live gallery event that will start at 12 PM ET. The preview is from 11 AM to 4 PM on Monday through Wednesday, May 12-14.  No appointment is needed.

Absentee bidding has opened through www.quinnsauction.com, and bidding online during the auction through LiveAuctioneers or Invaluable. For additional information about any item in the auction or to discuss a future consignment, Quinn’s John Callebert can be reached at (703) 532-5632 ext. 570 or email john@quinnsauction.com.