Dark Magician
2002 · Legend of Blue Eyes White Dragon · #LOB-005
Desk grade
7.5
6.5 – 8.0
Range from this photo. Not a PSA, BGS, or SGC cert.
- Centering
- 7.5
- Corners
- 7.5
- Edges
- 7.5
- Surface
- 7.5
Estimate from catalog averages, not a live surface check.
Glare, blur, and parallels get missed. The grading company still has the cert.
Value
Close call
$520
Raw · $280 – $1,100
Desk book
Raw
$520
$280 – $1,100
PSA 10
$6,200
PSA 9 $980
The math is close. Slab if you want liquidity and a cert; stay raw if you like the card in hand.
Grade yield
23% chance of PSA 9+. Net potential upside: +$79 after grading costs. Leave it raw.
PSA regular · $50 fee · $15 ship · $8 insurance · about 45 days. Shifted by this photo's 7.5 and 1,480 graded copies. Not a PSA yield.
Raw $520 · PSA 10 $6,200 · PSA 9 $980 · PSA 8 $420
- PSA 102% · pop 48+$4,797 after fee
- PSA 921% · pop 420+$266 after fee
- PSA 837% · pop 640-$220 after fee
Net is the slab price minus a 13% take, ship pad, a $50 fee, and raw. A 10 is not the likely outcome of a 9 photo.
Hold or sell
Mixed book — no rush
Liquidity 59
No season window on this sport. The call is only the listed pile and the pop. One census snapshot — not a live pop velocity.
Trust shield
Check these tells
A phone photo cannot measure font kerning or a rosette against a reference set. These are the known tells for this issue.
- Yu-Gi-Oh eye hologram must sit in the correct corner with the right foil
- 1st Edition LOB ultras are a different card from later reprints
Liquidity
List this copy
Title, desk grade, and comps in one block. We do not submit it for you.
Authenticity
Likely authentic
Visual review, not a cert.
Census match on a well-documented issue. Still verify holograms, stamps, and stock in hand — photos miss texture.
- Print and type match known copies of this issue
- Stock and finish consistent with the set
- LOB-005 ultra, 1st Edition stamp, eye hologram. Unlimited Dark Magician is a different book.
Census
How many exist
Graded
1,480
Gem mint
48
Gem rate
3.2%
Available now
11
- PSA 8640 pop · 5 listed
- PSA 9420 pop · 2 listed
- PSA 1048 pop · 0 listed
Compiled census estimate (PSA/BGS public pops)
Last sale · PSA 9 · $890 · Aug 2026
Comps
Sales tape
Desk book until you pull a live market read.
Raw · Goldin
Sep 10, 2026
$551
PSA 10 · PWCC
Jul 28, 2026
$6,924
PSA 9 · Heritage
Aug 2, 2026
$933
PSA 10 · Goldin
Aug 7, 2026
$6,709
Raw · Goldin
Apr 6, 2026
$469
Raw · Goldin
May 13, 2026
$487
PSA 10 · Goldin
Jul 27, 2026
$6,367
On the market
Open a live search on the desks that actually print paper.
Desk
If you send it in
Set the grade you think you have and the service you would buy.
- At Raw
- $520
- Raw now
- $520
- Gem book
- $6,200
- Lift after fees
- -$50
Keep it raw · 45-day regular at $50.
Tells
How fakes fail
Eye foils and texture are the first check.
- Yu-Gi-Oh eye hologram must sit in the correct corner with the right foil
- 1st Edition LOB ultras are a different card from later reprints
- Manga rares have line texture — flattened prints are the common fake
- Set codes (LOB-001, OP01-024) must match the illustration
On this issue: LOB-005 ultra, 1st Edition stamp, eye hologram. Unlimited Dark Magician is a different book.
Centering & surface
Meter L/R and T/B from this photo, then loupe the print. A hint at what PSA, BGS, or SGC might say — not a cert.
Lot notes
The other LOB face. 1st Edition ultra is the only version that clears.