Magic: The Gathering x Lord of the Rings crossover set Tales of Middle-earth contains a single copy of the One Ring card that was hidden somewhere in a collector booster pack released in an English-language country. The anticipation for this golden ticket of a card resulted in one shop offering a million dollars for it before the set was even released.
The card has now been found, and card-grading service Professional Sports Authenticator issued a certificate for it, as well as a grading of "mint 9". Given that the whole point of grading cards is comparing them to others, the idea of grading a unique card is pretty pointless. I can only assume they gave it a 9 out of 10 to leave room for possible improvement in the sequel.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the owner of the card wishes to remain anonymous, which you would really, given that even now the Eye of Sauron casts its malevolent glare over the land in search of the Ring-Bearer. Rumor has it the card is in the possession of one of the Shire-folk, last seen traveling across New Zealand in search of an active volcano, and anyone with information is urged to report to their nearest Black Rider.
For anyone who cares about Magic: The Gathering cards as a vehicle for playing a game rather than a means for accumulating value, the Tales of Middle-earth set is pretty neat. The gorgeous map-style basic lands are a reason to care about Magic's least exciting cards, and Tolkien's legendarium gives Magic a mythic resonance other crossovers haven't been able to match.
As well as being available in valuable paper versions, the Tales of Middle-earth cards have been added in digital form to Magic: The Gathering Arena, which can be found on Steam and Epic.
