USA Series 1 Crystal Shard

SPRING & SUMMER REVIEW / MARCH 20 - SEPTEMBER 19, 2026 SPRING TO SUMMER: THE LEAP

EIGHT SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS

USA SERIES 1 / CRYSTAL SHARD

These highlights show where USA Crystal Shard prices strengthened this summer. It's the cards that do not always get the attention that give the best context clues. Some people even get steals, like the PSA 9 Spider Knight. Hopefully you have your eBay notifications set!

EIGHT PRICE-INCREASE HIGHLIGHTS / LARGEST GAINS FIRST USD eBay LOW / MAR 20 - JUN 19 > HIGH / JUN 20 - SEP 19

JUMPSHOT (176)

PSA 9 USA +217.6%

LOWEST EARLIER SALE $125.95

Apr 29, 2026

HIGHEST SUMMER SALE $400

Aug 23, 2026

eBay / PSA PRICE HISTORY

MISSION SPECIALIST (222)

PSA 10 USA +142.8%

LOWEST EARLIER SALE $787.77

May 3, 2026

HIGHEST SUMMER SALE $1,913

Aug 18, 2026

eBay / PSA PRICE HISTORY

FUNK OPS (248)

PSA 9 USA +125.2%

LOWEST EARLIER SALE $177.64

Apr 26, 2026

HIGHEST SUMMER SALE $400

Sep 4, 2026

eBay / PSA PRICE HISTORY

ASSAULT RIFLE (102)

PSA 9 USA +62.7%

LOWEST EARLIER SALE $375

Mar 22, 2026

HIGHEST SUMMER SALE $610

Aug 18, 2026

eBay / PSA PRICE HISTORY

SPIDER KNIGHT (290)

PSA 9 USA +62.6%

LOWEST EARLIER SALE $215.19

Apr 26, 2026

HIGHEST SUMMER SALE $350

Aug 27, 2026

eBay / PSA PRICE HISTORY

SHOGUN (288)

PSA 9 USA +56.2%

LOWEST EARLIER SALE $160

May 24, 2026

HIGHEST SUMMER SALE $249.99

Aug 12, 2026

eBay / PSA PRICE HISTORY

SPARKLE SPECIALIST (236)

PSA 9 USA +52.4%

LOWEST EARLIER SALE $400

Jun 16, 2026

HIGHEST SUMMER SALE $609.70

Aug 25, 2026

eBay / PSA PRICE HISTORY

VALOR (295)

PSA 9 USA +29.4%

LOWEST EARLIER SALE $170

May 24, 2026

HIGHEST SUMMER SALE $220

Aug 20, 2026

eBay / PSA PRICE HISTORY

HOW TO READ THESE HIGHLIGHTS

Earlier-period low (Mar 20-Jun 19) to summer high (Jun 20-Sep 19) for the same card, USA printing and PSA grade. Selected extremes are reference points, not typical prices or expected returns. Photos identify the highlighted high sales.

BLACK KNIGHT (252)

THE SIGNATURE CARD / USA PRINT / CRYSTAL SHARD

9

PSA 10 RECORDS

17

PSA 9 RECORDS

68

ALL GRADERS

ALL GRADES, ONE CARD HIGHEST RECORDED SALES (PUBLIC SALES IN LAST 6 MONTHS) MAR 18 - SEP 19, 2026 / USD

0 = none reported in that grade. - = category not supplied. Grading records do not equal unique physical cards.

USA printing verified from reverses. PSA scans match the pictured slab certificates. Highest verified sale per PSA grade in the retained six-month records; prices do not establish settlement.

PRINTING: CHECK THE CARD BACK

Some PSA labels omit a country and can be mistaken for USA. Our reviewed Funk Ops PSA 9 had an unqualified label but an Italy-printed reverse. This is a documented Fortnite mismatch, not a measured Black Knight error rate.

Documented printing example

REGRADING CAN COUNT A CARD TWICE

A crystal shard card submitted under a new certificate can remain counted under its old record unless that record is retired. Population counts will forever be inflated to some degree.

SUMMARY & ESTIMATE

Taken together, printing-label errors and repeat submissions suggest the reported USA population may exceed the number of unique, correctly identified cards. FTC Hub estimates roughly 10% inflation as an unverified editorial assumption. Official counts above remain unadjusted.

CARD & PRINTING

Card name, number & country of printing

Photo of the slab that sold

HIGHEST RECORDED SALE

Recorded sales / Mar 18 - Sep 19, 2026

USD / grade / marketplace link / sale date

PSA POPULATION BY GRADE

Printing shown at left / Gem Rate = PSA 10 as % of all PSA slabs

PSA 8 OR LOWER + OTHER PSA 9 PSA 10

TOTAL SLABS BY COUNTRY

Reported PSA + BGS + CGC + SGC counts

Crystal Shard / all grades / each printing

CARD & PRINTING

Card name, number & country of printing

Photo of the slab that sold

HIGHEST RECORDED SALE

Recorded sales / Mar 18 - Sep 19, 2026

USD / grade / marketplace link / sale date

PSA POPULATION BY GRADE

Printing shown at left / Gem Rate = PSA 10 as % of all PSA slabs

PSA 8 OR LOWER + OTHER PSA 9 PSA 10

TOTAL SLABS BY COUNTRY

Reported PSA + BGS + CGC + SGC counts

Crystal Shard / all grades / each printing

CARD & PRINTING

Card name, number & country of printing

Photo of the slab that sold

HIGHEST RECORDED SALE

Recorded sales / Mar 18 - Sep 19, 2026

USD / grade / marketplace link / sale date

PSA POPULATION BY GRADE

Printing shown at left / Gem Rate = PSA 10 as % of all PSA slabs

PSA 8 OR LOWER + OTHER PSA 9 PSA 10

TOTAL SLABS BY COUNTRY

Reported PSA + BGS + CGC + SGC counts

Crystal Shard / all grades / each printing

NEW CARDS. WILD TIMING. A CHASE THAT CONTINUES.

Fortnite’s first cards arrived just before the collecting boom. Then came the PSA rush, the grading freeze and the hunt for the right USA shard.

2019 / THE BEGINNING

A Target shelf, a $19.99 Mega Box, and a new collection. FTC Hub recalls discovering Fortnite cards and opening that first Crystal Shard. [7]

2020 / THE COLLECTING BOOM

Collecting gave people something to look forward to at home. Across all trading cards, eBay’s domestic sales rose 142% over 2019 as the hobby found a much bigger audience. [3]

2021 / THE BIG FREEZE

The cards kept coming until PSA hit pause. In late March, new Value, Regular and Express submissions went on hold, leaving collectors to wait for those services to reopen. [8]

2026 / SIX-MONTH SEALED HIGH

One USA Series 1 Mega Box sold on eBay for AU$3,499 on August 20: US$2,491.46 before shipping in Product Research, the highest single-box sale we located in six months. [10]

IT STARTED WITH A BOX

Before the big sales and population reports, there were $19.99 Mega Boxes at Target. FTC Hub’s collecting story started in summer 2019, with a full Fortnite display at Walgreens and, later, that first Crystal Shard from a silver pack. It is a familiar way for a collection to begin: something catches your eye, you open a box, and suddenly you want to find the rest of the set. [7]

Then came 2020. With COVID changing everyday life, collecting offered something to look forward to at home. The wider card hobby grew quickly: eBay reported domestic trading-card sales up 142% that year. Interest rates had fallen to nearly zero, too. Fortnite cards were barely a year old when collecting became a much bigger conversation. [2, 3]

THE PSA RUSH, AND THE WAIT

Finding a card you liked was one thing. Getting it graded soon became a project of its own. In early March 2021, PSA received more cards in three days than it had in the previous three months. By the end of March, new Value, Regular and Express submissions were on hold. PSA kept grading its backlog, but collectors could no longer send cards through those services. [8]

Express reopened in July at $200 a card, while Value stayed closed. That is a substantial grading bill for a pile of fresh pulls. And Fortnite collectors were still figuring out what they had: Series 1 was less than two years old, and completing a clean USA set was already proving difficult. Even after finding the card, there was the cost and wait to consider. [7, 9]

STILL WORTH KEEPING AN EYE ON

Of course, prices did not keep climbing. FTC Hub’s August 2021 video described Mega Boxes falling from a peak near $3,800 to about $1,350. Completing USA sets was still difficult. [7] Later, inflation and higher interest rates gave collectors more reason to watch their spending. [4, 5] But familiar characters still had their appeal, and Fortnite OG brought Chapter 1 back in 2023. [6]

This summer gives collectors something new to talk about. Alongside the selected increases on our cover, Black Knight sold for a reported $100,000 in PSA 10 on Alt. The highest single USA Series 1 Mega Box sale we located was AU$3,499 on eBay on August 20, 2026 - US$2,491.46 in Product Research, before shipping. [10; Chapters 1-3] Quite a change from spotting a box on a Target shelf.

THE COLLECTOR’S EDGE The right character, printing and condition can take time to find. Knowing what you want before it appears is part of the pleasure of collecting - and a good reason to keep watching this corner of the hobby.

[1] Panini / Feb 5, 2020 [2] Federal Reserve / Mar 15, 2020 [3] eBay / 2021 trading-card report [4] BLS / June 2022 CPI

[5] Federal Reserve / Jul 26, 2023 [6] Epic Games / Fortnite OG, Nov 2023 [7] FTC Hub / Aug 29, 2021 retrospective [8] PSA / March 2021 submission suspension

[9] PSA / Jul 1, 2021 Express reopening [10] eBay / Aug 20, 2026 Mega Box sale

FAMILIAR FACES. SERIOUS COLLECTING.

Fortnite’s young chase, alongside three established card worlds. Read across for character appeal, the highest verified sale and total PSA population.

FORTNITE

100M+ active players and creators

Epic, Feb 2024; activity period not specified. Historical reach, not today’s card buyers.

REACH SOURCE

POKÉMON

20M+ weekly active players

Pokémon GO, March 2025; 190+ countries and regions. One game within a larger franchise.

REACH SOURCE

MAGIC: THE GATHERING

50M+ lifetime players

Hasbro, 2022 annual report. Cumulative players to date, rather than a current active audience.

REACH SOURCE

YU-GI-OH!

100M cumulative downloads

Master Duel, Aug 2026. TCG sold in 80+ countries and regions. Downloads are not unique players.

REACH SOURCE

THE CENTREPIECE / THE CARD YOU BUILD AROUND

BLACK KNIGHT (252)

2019 Series 1 / USA Crystal Shard

$100,000 HIGHEST VERIFIED SALE

2026-08-26 / Alt / six-month high

TOTAL PSA POP 46

Black Knight has become the centrepiece of this issue: an early character, a striking USA shard and a six-figure sale. Just 46 PSA records across grades make the collecting hunt worth following.

SALE SOURCE PSA POPULATION

CHARIZARD (4)

1999 English Base Set / 1st Edition holo

$954,800 HIGHEST VERIFIED SALE

2026-02-16 / Goldin / premium included

TOTAL PSA POP 5,646

The original English chase card still carries those pack-opening memories. This headline sale featured the Charizard from Logan Paul's 2021 box break, with that provenance noted on the holder.

SALE SOURCE PSA POPULATION

BLACK LOTUS

1993 English Limited Edition Alpha

$2,208,200 HIGHEST VERIFIED SALE

2026-09-19 / Goldin / premium included

TOTAL PSA POP 114

Magic's landmark shows how one early card can represent an entire hobby. Its September auction brought more than $2.2 million: a remarkable result for the small flower that helped define collectible card games.

SALE SOURCE PSA POPULATION

BLUE-EYES WHITE DRAGON

2002 English LOB / 1st Edition / 001

$85,100 HIGHEST VERIFIED SALE

2020-10-28 / eBay / PWCC / PSA-reported

TOTAL PSA POP 1,164

Some collectors can picture Blue-Eyes before they picture a single game. The first English booster issue turns that recognition into an early-set collecting goal.

SALE SOURCE PSA POPULATION

THE FACE YOU REMEMBER / A CHARACTER BECOMES A COLLECTION

PEELY (233)

2019 Series 1 / USA Crystal Shard

$14,000 HIGHEST VERIFIED SALE

2026-08-13 / eBay / six-month high

TOTAL PSA POP 52

Peely brings a smile before the price tag enters the conversation. His first-series USA shard gives that affection a physical home, with 52 total PSA records and a $14,000 recorded six-month high.

SALE SOURCE PSA POPULATION

PIKACHU ILLUSTRATOR

1998 Japanese illustration-contest promo

$16,492,000 HIGHEST VERIFIED SALE

2026-02-16 / Goldin / premium included

TOTAL PSA POP 56

A famous face meets a trophy-card origin. This sale carried Logan Paul provenance and a diamond necklace. Illustrator is an exceptional historical landmark, not a price target for Peely.

SALE SOURCE PSA POPULATION

SHIVAN DRAGON

1993 English Limited Edition Alpha

$44,400 HIGHEST VERIFIED SALE

2022-11-18 / PWCC / Fanatics archive

TOTAL PSA POP 57

An early dragon is a very different personality from a banana. The collecting connection is the memorable first-set face: a card you want because it takes you back.

SALE SOURCE PSA POPULATION

DARK MAGICIAN

2002 English LOB / 1st Edition / 005

$21,200 HIGHEST VERIFIED SALE

2026-08-24 / eBay auction / PSA-reported

TOTAL PSA POP 918

A signature character gives fans an easy place to begin. Dark Magician shows how attachment can carry into collecting an exact early printing, long after the first introduction.

SALE SOURCE PSA POPULATION

USD. Highest verified in reviewed sources, not an exhaustive all-time audit. Fortnite: Mar 18-Sep 19, 2026; other franchises include historical sales. Pop totals: PSA Certified records across all grades, half grades, qualifiers and AUTH; excludes PSA/DNA autograph records and other graders. Not unique cards or print runs. Sources checked Sep 20. Sale grades vary; audience units differ.

FAMILIAR FACES. SERIOUS COLLECTING.

Fortnite’s young chase, alongside three established card worlds. Read across for character appeal, the highest verified sale and total PSA population.

FORTNITE

100M+ active players and creators

Epic, Feb 2024; activity period not specified. Historical reach, not today’s card buyers.

REACH SOURCE

POKÉMON

20M+ weekly active players

Pokémon GO, March 2025; 190+ countries and regions. One game within a larger franchise.

REACH SOURCE

MAGIC: THE GATHERING

50M+ lifetime players

Hasbro, 2022 annual report. Cumulative players to date, rather than a current active audience.

REACH SOURCE

YU-GI-OH!

100M cumulative downloads

Master Duel, Aug 2026. TCG sold in 80+ countries and regions. Downloads are not unique players.

REACH SOURCE

THE DISTINCTIVE DESIGN / A REASON TO LOOK BEYOND THE HEADLINER

DRIFT (263)

2019 Series 1 / USA Crystal Shard

$5,999 HIGHEST VERIFIED SALE

2026-08-12 / Alt / six-month high

TOTAL PSA POP 51

Drift does not need to be Black Knight to earn the display space. His design and USA shard finish make their own case, with 51 total PSA records for this printing.

SALE SOURCE PSA POPULATION

RAYQUAZA GOLD STAR (107)

2005 English EX Deoxys / Gold Star holo

$1,020,000 HIGHEST VERIFIED SALE

2026-08-28 / Fanatics / premium included

TOTAL PSA POP 1,924

Striking artwork can become a chase of its own. Rayquaza's black-and-gold design gives collectors a reason to look beyond the original mascots, much as Drift brings his own visual identity to Fortnite.

SALE SOURCE PSA POPULATION

JUZAM DJINN

1993 English Arabian Nights

$9,000 HIGHEST VERIFIED SALE

2023-06-23 / Fanatics sales-history record

TOTAL PSA POP 274

A memorable image gives collectors a reason to explore beyond Black Lotus. This first-expansion card makes a useful companion to Drift’s appeal: distinctive style with a following of its own.

SALE SOURCE PSA POPULATION

RED-EYES B. DRAGON

2002 English LOB / 1st Edition / 070

$31,200 HIGHEST VERIFIED SALE

2026-03-16 / Fanatics / PSA-reported

TOTAL PSA POP 786

A collection has room for more than its biggest dragon. Red-Eyes makes the same broader point as Drift: a strong identity can sustain its own chase without being the headline card.

SALE SOURCE PSA POPULATION

PERSONALITY WINS / THE CARD THAT MAKES YOU SMILE

FISHSTICK (187)

2019 Series 1 / USA Crystal Shard

$6,801 HIGHEST VERIFIED SALE

2026-08-18 / eBay / six-month high

TOTAL PSA POP 38

Fishstick is the reminder that a serious collection can still have a sense of humour. Thirty-eight total PSA records and a $6,801 six-month high give the familiar face a collecting story worth following.

SALE SOURCE PSA POPULATION

UNIVERSITY MAGIKARP (129)

1998 Japanese Tamamushi University prize

$210,800 HIGHEST VERIFIED SALE

2026-02-15 / Goldin / premium included

TOTAL PSA POP 160

An unlikely fish can carry a very serious chase. Magikarp’s university-contest prize origin separates it from ordinary pack cards; the shared appeal is personality, not matching distribution.

SALE SOURCE PSA POPULATION

BIRDS OF PARADISE

1993 English Limited Edition Alpha

$37,877 HIGHEST VERIFIED SALE

2019 / eBay corporate sale report

TOTAL PSA POP 62

Colour and charm can hold their own beside the intimidating monsters. This Alpha bird offers another way into early Magic collecting, with a reported PSA population of just 62 across all grades.

SALE SOURCE PSA POPULATION

KURIBOH

2002 English Metal Raiders / 1st Ed. / 071

$1,526 HIGHEST VERIFIED SALE

2026-08-10 / eBay auction / PSA-reported

TOTAL PSA POP 491

The smallest character can leave a lasting impression. Kuriboh gives Fishstick a friendly counterpart: collecting driven by affection, even with a much larger total PSA population.

SALE SOURCE PSA POPULATION

USD. Highest verified in reviewed sources, not an exhaustive all-time audit. Fortnite: Mar 18-Sep 19, 2026; other franchises include historical sales. Pop totals: PSA Certified records across all grades, half grades, qualifiers and AUTH; excludes PSA/DNA autograph records and other graders. Not unique cards or print runs. Sources checked Sep 20. Sale grades vary; audience units differ.