Vintage Era
basket vs S&P 500 Total Return
Alpha vs S&P 500
0
Iconic chase Black Lotus
Black Lotus · Limited Edition Alpha · 1993
Total invested at retail
$72.00
Sum of MSRPs, one box per product as released
Basket value today
$6,799.95
+9344.4% since release
S&P 500 equivalent (DCA)
$1,968.38
+2633.8% same dollars, same dates
Alpha vs S&P 500
+6710.5 pp
Basket CAGR 15.30% vs SPXTR 10.91%
33-year horizon
Cumulative portfolio value
Each dot marks a product's release date entering the basket.- Vintage Era basket
- S&P 500 (TR) DCA equivalent
Top grading plays in this era
Best risk-adjusted "buy raw, grade, flip" opportunities. Methodology →Top cards in this era
Highest-comp cards across this era's sets.
Timetwister
Unlimited Edition · #85
$5,142
Mox Sapphire
Unlimited Edition · #266
$3,900
Mox Emerald
Unlimited Edition · #262
$3,600
Mox Pearl
Unlimited Edition · #264
$3,513
Time Walk
Unlimited Edition · #84
$2,800
Volcanic Island
Unlimited Edition · #287
$1,299
Underground Sea
Unlimited Edition · #286
$1,209
Tundra
Unlimited Edition · #285
$1,200
Basket composition
Where Vintage Era's $6,800 basket value sits today.- The Dark Booster Box $6,800 100%
Concentration shows where the era's investment risk sits. A heavy weighting in 1–2 products means single-card outcomes drive the basket more than diversification.
Compare to other eras
Quick peer reads against same-game neighbors plus a cross-game peer.- Vintage Era alpha +6710.5 ppReserved List Era alpha +3339.5 ppCAGR delta +1.7 pp
Vintage Era leads by 3371 pp of alpha over Reserved List Era.
See full Vintage Era vs Reserved List Era → - Vintage Era alpha +6710.5 ppStandard Acceleration Era alpha -117.0 ppCAGR delta +6.7 pp
Vintage Era leads by 6828 pp of alpha over Standard Acceleration Era.
See full Vintage Era vs Standard Acceleration Era → - MTG Single-Set EraVintage Era alpha +6710.5 ppSingle-Set Era alpha -84.1 ppCAGR delta +9.4 pp
Vintage Era leads by 6795 pp of alpha over Single-Set Era.
See full Vintage Era vs Single-Set Era → - Pokémon WOTC EraVintage Era alpha +6710.5 ppWOTC Era alpha +66139.1 ppCAGR delta -11.4 pp
WOTC Era leads by 59429 pp of alpha — Vintage Era trails on this peer read.
See full Vintage Era vs WOTC Era →
Sealed products in Vintage Era
Box-by-box performance. Sorted by release. Click any row for the full vs-S&P 500 comparison.| Product | Released | MSRP | Spot | Return | SPXTR | Alpha | CAGR | 12-mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Limited Edition Alpha Booster Box | Aug 1993 | $144.00 | — | — | — | — | — | |
 Limited Edition Beta Booster Box | Oct 1993 | $144.00 | — | +8233.3% | +2746.8% | +5486.6 pp | 14.5% | |
 Unlimited Edition Booster Box | Dec 1993 | $90.00 | — | +256.8% | +2739.8% | -2483.0 pp | 4.0% | |
 Arabian Nights Booster Box | Dec 1993 | $72.00 | — | +940.3% | +2739.8% | -1799.6 pp | 7.5% | |
 Antiquities Booster Box | Mar 1994 | $72.00 | — | +20854.9% | +2851.8% | +18003.1 pp | 18.1% | |
 Revised Edition Booster Box | Apr 1994 | $90.00 | — | — | — | — | — | |
 Legends Booster Box | Jun 1994 | $90.00 | — | — | — | — | — | |
 The Dark Booster Box | Aug 1994 | $72.00 | $6,799.95 | +9344.4% | +2633.8% | +6710.5 pp | 15.3% | |
 Fallen Empires Booster Box | Nov 1994 | $72.00 | — | +553.9% | +2744.4% | -2190.5 pp | 6.1% | |
 Ice Age Booster Box | Jun 1995 | $90.00 | — | — | — | — | — | |
 Homelands Booster Box | Oct 1995 | $72.00 | — | +559.6% | +2067.7% | -1508.0 pp | 6.4% |