Mint/Gem Mint BGS Alpha Set

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Jmaschme
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Mint/Gem Mint BGS Alpha Set

Post by Jmaschme » Fri Oct 04, 2013 4:27 am

My first post here but I have been a longtime magic player/collector. Got started with Beta back in 1993. A friend and I each bought a few starter decks one weekend, played the game, and when we went back to get more the next weekend all of the Beta cards were sold out and never re-stocked. When Unlimited came out we gobbled up whatever we could afford. But I digress...

Fast-forward almost 20 years (sigh) and now I'm zeroing in on a BGS 9.0 or better set of Alpha cards. There are many cards I still need although I've been lucky enough to assemble all of the P9 and duals. I'm looking to get in contact with those with PSA 9 or 10 cards (that I will re-sub) or already-graded BGS cards in 9.0 or better. Not willing to take the risk on getting raw cards graded. I'll pay cash for cards but also have some cards to trade. Send me a message if you can help. I plan to post the set on the BGS registry after the Vintage tournament in Philly in early November (am picking up some of the key cards there). Glad to be a part of this community and have my membership activated! Thanks to Len for helping me out.

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Magic61983
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Post by Magic61983 » Fri Oct 04, 2013 2:16 pm

Looks like we're after the same thing only I'm working on a BGS 9.5 Alpha set. I have 3 BGS 9.0's you may be interested in I'll drop you a line.
BGS 9+ Alpha set 282/295 (97.29%) Avg 9.41
BGS 9.5+ Beta set 283/302 (93.71%) Avg 9.58
BGS 9.5+ Arabian set 35/92 (38.04%) Avg 9.62
BGS 9.5+ Antiquities set 82/100 (82%) Avg 9.64
BGS 9.5+ Legends set 279/310 (90.00%) Avg 9.61

Jmaschme
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Post by Jmaschme » Fri Oct 04, 2013 2:58 pm

To make things easier, thought I'd post the cards I particularly need. If you have any please let me know! As a reminder I will also take PSA 9s or 10s in addition to BGS 9.0+.

Aspect of Wolf
Benalish Hero
Black Ward
Bog Wraith
Clockwork Beast
Contract from Below
Counterspell
Creature Bond
Dark Ritual
Darkpact
Dingus Egg
Flight
Fog
Giant Growth
Glasses of Urza
Green Ward
Guardian Angel
Holy Armor
Hurricane
Illusionary Mask
Instill Energy
Ironroot Treefolk
Keldon Warlord
Ley Druid
Lifelace
Lifetap
Living Lands
Mind Twist
Mox Jet (I have an 8.5 but would like to upgrade)
Nettling Imp
Orcish Oriflamme
Paralyze
Personal Incarnation
Raise Dead
Sea Serpent
Sedge Troll
Simulacrum
Stone Rain
Tunnel
Unsummon
Uthden Troll
Volcanic Eruption
Zombie Master

thanks for your consideration!

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Magic61983
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Post by Magic61983 » Fri Oct 04, 2013 3:16 pm

I know someone that has a BGS 9 Jet let me know what you want to pay on it.
BGS 9+ Alpha set 282/295 (97.29%) Avg 9.41
BGS 9.5+ Beta set 283/302 (93.71%) Avg 9.58
BGS 9.5+ Arabian set 35/92 (38.04%) Avg 9.62
BGS 9.5+ Antiquities set 82/100 (82%) Avg 9.64
BGS 9.5+ Legends set 279/310 (90.00%) Avg 9.61

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Post by tap4black » Fri Oct 04, 2013 4:40 pm

Good luck on your set Jon. It only took me about 11 years to complete my set in all 9 or better so I know the work you will be putting in to find those last few cards you need~!

Len
#2 All Time Finest PSA Alpha Set, GPA of 9.64, now retired and re-graded via Beckett. BGS GPA 9.40 after shipping off several pieces to JM!

Current Alpha Rare count = 1500+!

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l0qii
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Post by l0qii » Fri Oct 04, 2013 7:54 pm

tap4black wrote:Good luck on your set Jon. It only took me about 11 years to complete my set in all 9 or better so I know the work you will be putting in to find those last few cards you need~!

Len

I second that. Graded sets are the ultimate test of patience. Good luck!

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Magic61983
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Post by Magic61983 » Fri Oct 04, 2013 8:14 pm

l0qii wrote:
tap4black wrote:Good luck on your set Jon. It only took me about 11 years to complete my set in all 9 or better so I know the work you will be putting in to find those last few cards you need~!

Len

I second that. Graded sets are the ultimate test of patience. Good luck!
That's not what I wanted to hear. LOL I'm about as impatient as they get.

The only nice thing is ABUgames and a few other companies are out there that are getting cards graded on a fairly regular basis so graded cards are a bit easy to come by then what they used to be. Although I'm super picky with BGS graded cards so everything has to be 9.5 on all subs or better for my Beta/Arabian/Antiquities/Legends set. Alpha I'll settle for a 9 subgrade but overall has to be 9.5.
BGS 9+ Alpha set 282/295 (97.29%) Avg 9.41
BGS 9.5+ Beta set 283/302 (93.71%) Avg 9.58
BGS 9.5+ Arabian set 35/92 (38.04%) Avg 9.62
BGS 9.5+ Antiquities set 82/100 (82%) Avg 9.64
BGS 9.5+ Legends set 279/310 (90.00%) Avg 9.61

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Post by kalimno » Fri Oct 04, 2013 8:55 pm

This era seems to be like the golden age of magic in terms of popularity and commercial success. I guess prices going up might actually speed up the process. More collections would be liquidated, more cards would be sent in for grading etc. So things may go faster than what they were a decade ago, would you agree ?

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Post by berkumps » Fri Oct 04, 2013 10:22 pm

Magic61983 wrote:...Although I'm super picky with BGS graded cards so everything has to be 9.5 on all subs or better for my Beta/Arabian/Antiquities/Legends set. Alpha I'll settle for a 9 subgrade but overall has to be 9.5.
Why not 10 overall with all 10 subs? :p

I bid you good luck in your quest, as Tim said, it will be the ultimate test of patience for your Alpha set. I'm sure if you went Beta instead, you'd get done much quicker, but Alpha carries more bragging rights!

I really like projects whereby, albeit expensive, they are not decided by money alone, since even if you had unlimited funds, finding 9.5's of all could be nigh impossible.

Jmaschme
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Post by Jmaschme » Sat Oct 05, 2013 2:38 am

Wow. All 9.5 subs for Alphas... if we got all of the remaining Alphas (bet most of the print run still exists) in a room and picked the very best, I wonder if it would be possible to find all 9.5 subs. Given printing the prevalence of print dots, off-centering etc on many of the cards I'd say odds are low. Even after the cards were cut it's my understanding they were collected by hand (i.e. the process was not automated) before being sorted for packaging. And then there are the Alpha rares that ended up being stuffed into Beta starter decks. Bet those got a lot of extra handling before being packaged. I don't know these things for facts I'm just speculating.

I think it's very possible on Arabians, and would virtually guarantee it's possible for Antiquities and Legends.

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Magic61983
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Post by Magic61983 » Mon Oct 07, 2013 3:07 pm

Jmaschme wrote:Wow. All 9.5 subs for Alphas... if we got all of the remaining Alphas (bet most of the print run still exists) in a room and picked the very best, I wonder if it would be possible to find all 9.5 subs. Given printing the prevalence of print dots, off-centering etc on many of the cards I'd say odds are low. Even after the cards were cut it's my understanding they were collected by hand (i.e. the process was not automated) before being sorted for packaging. And then there are the Alpha rares that ended up being stuffed into Beta starter decks. Bet those got a lot of extra handling before being packaged. I don't know these things for facts I'm just speculating.

I think it's very possible on Arabians, and would virtually guarantee it's possible for Antiquities and Legends.
From what I've seen it's possible with Beta with the exception of Birds. To my knowledge all the other cards should exist and a Bird of Paradise may exist also. Alpha it's impossible to get a full BGS 9.5 set with all 9.5 subgrades so I'll have to settle for some 9 centering grades at some point but 9.5 overall.
BGS 9+ Alpha set 282/295 (97.29%) Avg 9.41
BGS 9.5+ Beta set 283/302 (93.71%) Avg 9.58
BGS 9.5+ Arabian set 35/92 (38.04%) Avg 9.62
BGS 9.5+ Antiquities set 82/100 (82%) Avg 9.64
BGS 9.5+ Legends set 279/310 (90.00%) Avg 9.61

Jmaschme
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Post by Jmaschme » Mon Oct 07, 2013 8:34 pm

interesting that Birds is one of the toughest cards in both Alpha and Beta

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Magic61983
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Post by Magic61983 » Mon Oct 07, 2013 8:38 pm

Jmaschme wrote:interesting that Birds is one of the toughest cards in both Alpha and Beta
Almost all are off center and it was one of the most played cards back in the day.
BGS 9+ Alpha set 282/295 (97.29%) Avg 9.41
BGS 9.5+ Beta set 283/302 (93.71%) Avg 9.58
BGS 9.5+ Arabian set 35/92 (38.04%) Avg 9.62
BGS 9.5+ Antiquities set 82/100 (82%) Avg 9.64
BGS 9.5+ Legends set 279/310 (90.00%) Avg 9.61

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Post by tap4black » Mon Oct 07, 2013 8:45 pm

Magic61983 wrote:
Jmaschme wrote:interesting that Birds is one of the toughest cards in both Alpha and Beta
Almost all are off center and it was one of the most played cards back in the day.
Many of the off center cards all came from the left edge of the Rare sheet including Birds, Stasis, Forcefield, Sedge Troll, Chaos Orb, Magical Hack, Mox Jet and Timetwister.

Surprisingly, Island Sanctuary is also on the left edge yet is quite easy to find well centered..........
#2 All Time Finest PSA Alpha Set, GPA of 9.64, now retired and re-graded via Beckett. BGS GPA 9.40 after shipping off several pieces to JM!

Current Alpha Rare count = 1500+!

Jmaschme
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POSTED

Post by Jmaschme » Mon Jan 13, 2014 12:41 pm

It's been a few months so I thought I'd post a follow-up to say that my Alpha, Beta, Unlimited, Arabian and Antiquities sets are nearly complete and finally registered on the BGS website. Thanks so much to all here (and elsewhere) who have been incredibly helpful especially Len, Brian, Bob, Cole, Matt, Mel and Chris Lam. I'll try to link but I don't know if it will work:

Alphas:
http://registry.beckett.com/set-details ... as_2294964

Betas:
http://registry.beckett.com/set-details ... as_2294965

Unlimited:
http://registry.beckett.com/set-details ... ds_2294966

Arabians:
http://registry.beckett.com/set-details ... ns_2294980

Antiquities:
http://registry.beckett.com/set-details ... es_2294981

Thanks again to all! And finally - if anyone has cards that can further upgrade my sets send me a PM!

:-D

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