DALLAS, TX.- “I knew what I had was rare,” says a newcomer to the collecting world. “But I didn’t know much more than that.”

Last year, when the young Californian put a vintage sealed copy of Legend of Zelda up for sale on eBay, he reckoned based on his initial research that the 1987 game could garner “something like $15,000 or $20,000. But within minutes of listing it I had multiple people getting in touch with me to ask me if I knew what I had.” What they knew that Kiro didn’t: He held the rarest and most desired variant of the game — the true first production. Two years earlier the same variant of Zelda had sold at Heritage for $705,000.

The Gen Z consigner, who goes by Kiro, sounds so chill about the matter he’s almost deadpan. Zelda was never his game (“I was born way after it came out”) though he admits it’s his favorite from the old Nintendo library. (Though not a fanatic, he does play games. “I’ve been enjoying Monster Hunter Rise lately,” he says.)

Kiro’s sealed copy of Zelda has been in his possession “for quite a while” via a family member who purchased it back when it was released. Kiro just hadn’t thought to look up its value or sell it until recently. “I thought it would be nice to free up some money,” he says. “Wouldn’t anyone want to free up $15,000 if they could?”

Upon that false start on eBay, a veteran collector reached out to help Kiro navigate the wild and woolly landscape of video game collectibles. What followed was a whirlwind: The grading company CGC had Kiro fly in person with the game to its headquarters in Florida and graded it the same day; the following day Kiro sat down in Dallas with Valarie Spiegel, Heritage’s Managing Director of Video Games, and the result of that meeting (“Smooth sailing — a great negotiation” Kiro says) is that on Feb. 23 this spectacular variant of the industry’s most collectible game — a first production 1987 Legend graded 8.0 A — will find itself in the hands of a new owner. The lot headlines Heritage’s February 23 - 24 Video Games Signature ® Auction. In the meantime, Kiro has developed a new appreciation for collecting — though he may have been wired for it already.

“In the past, I’ve collected some Pokémon cards and some sports cards. But yes, I’ve got the bug now, at least a little bit.” He laughs.

Says Spiegel, “For the second time in Heritage’s history, we have the unprecedented opportunity to auction a brand-new, never-been-opened first production copy of The Legend of Zelda for the NES — the first game in Nintendo’s landmark Zelda series. Rumored to be one of roughly five sealed ‘first print’ copies floating around in private collections, this a momentous find for the hobby. To put this scarcity into perspective, consider the collectibles market at large, where rarity scales differently. For instance, there are 78 copies of Action Comics #1 — the first appearance of Superman — on CGC’s census. This viewpoint not only underscores the significance of this critical moment in video game history but also highlights the unique scarcity video games possess within the collectibles market.”

Shigeru Miyamoto — the genius behind Donkey Kong and Super Mario — also bestowed upon the world this groundbreaking game, which marked the introduction of iconic characters Link, Princess Zelda, and Ganon. Coupled with Koji Kondo's musical score, the game was an instant classic. This copy on offer by Heritage sports a Fedco price sticker on the front cover (it reads $29.87) — the shop’s name is synonymous with “California” and “1980s”. Adds Spiegel,“This is a highly desirable piece for Zelda fans, NES collectors, video game historians, and anyone else wanting to own a landmark vintage video game. This is the crown jewel of the event.”

In fact the auction is distinguished by its number of early high-grade games and more, including this Japanese (Famicon) NES 1985 copy of Super Mario Bros. (created by the aforementioned Shigeru Miyamoto) graded VGA 90+ NM+/MT. “Mario’s release in Japan predates the U.S. release by a few months, making this the first Super Mario home console game released worldwide,” says Spiegel. “The grade is exceptional. It’s never been opened.” This game pioneered the side-scrolling platformer genre. Alongside it in the event is this copy of 1988’s NES Metal Gear with a 9.8 A++ grade. The game marked the debut of Solid Snake and set the stage for the stealth-action genre in the gaming industry. It’s joined by a Wata-graded copy of 1987’s NES The Karate Kid that scores a 10.0 A — only three NES games have ever been given this remarkable grade. A copy of the 1988 debut issue of the gaming industry’s favorite magazine Nintendo Power, graded 9.4 by CGC, is in this event. The familiar cover brings to life the narrative of Super Mario Bros. 2 through clay-modeled cover art by Joan Gratz. A 1991 Japanese variant of the game Sonic the Hedgehog graded 9.6A by Wata is here (the flagship title for Sega Genesis) as well as a 1995 copy of Tekken graded at 9.8 A++ (the highest grade across all variants) and an extremely rare sealed longboxed copy of 1995’s Twisted Metal graded 9.4 A+ by Wata.

There are more than 300 lots in this event and while most are sought-after game variants, another auction highlight is game-adjacent and compliments the category in its tech-revolution import: Three factory sealed iPhones — slabbed and graded — represent the first, second, and third generations of Apple’s Steve Jobs-introduced groundbreaking invention. The black 1st-gen iPhone (2007), with its blast-from-the-past home button and revolutionary curved corners, is joined by a 2nd-gen white iPhone (2008) and a 3rd-gen black iPhone (2009). The elegance of these 3G objects belies their humanity-shifting prowess; no beautifully designed breakthrough has upended and shaped our relationship with technology more than the iPhone.

Heritage likes to include charming original artworks by industry greats in its game auctions, and this event is no exception: The original 1984 box cover art by Eric Joyner for Archon II: Adept is a massive painting that depicts the drama and magic of the classic strategy game. An original painting that served as the box art for 2001’s Fur Fighter by legendary comic book artist Simon Bisley is here; with good humor and wonderful character graphics it depicts the aftermath of fuzz-soaked mayhem. Artist Peter Bollinger’s original box art for Killing Time is terrifying and evocative of the 1996 first-person shooter. The imagery, says Spiegel, “is emblematic of a period in the '90s when video game box art — and video games in general — began to pivot towards more mature themes.” Heritage of course celebrates the entirety of video game history, and Bollinger’s vision for Killing Time is no exception.