Super Rare Copy of Super Mario Bros. Sells for World-Record Price of $100,150

A brand new, sealed copy of a rare, 34-year-old version of Super Mario Bros game for the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) has just been sold for a world-record price of $100,150 (via TechCrunch). 

Nintendo reprinted Super Mario Bros. from 1985 to 1994 numerous times due to its high popularity, which resulted in 11 different box variations. The first two variations were “sticker sealed” copies that were only sold in the New York and L.A. test market launch of the NES in 1985 and 1986. 

Mario

According to the Heritage Auctions’ press release, of all the sealed copies of Super Mario Bros., this is the only known “sticker sealed” copy and was certified by Wata Games with a Near Mint grade of 9.4 and a “Seal Rating” of A++:



“Beyond the artistic and historical significance of this game is its supreme state of preservation,” says Kenneth Thrower, co-founder and chief grader of Wata Games.

“Not only are all of NES sticker sealed game’ extremely rare, but by their nature of not being sealed in shrink wrap they usually exhibit significant wear after more than 30 years,” Thrower said. “This game may be the condition census of all sticker sealed NES games known to exist.”

The game was purchased as a joint effort on Feb. 6 by a group of collectors, including renowned coin dealer Rich Lecce, the founder of the auction house itself Jim Halperin, and multiple video game collectors. More information about the auction is available here.

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