Crystal Mines Nintendo NES: PSA Pop Report + Loose / CIB / Sealed Prices
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PSA has graded 5 Crystal Mines Nintendo NES copies on record — 5 sealed. PSA tracks 2 distinct production variants separately because they’re priced differently by collectors. Sealed copies trade in the $128 range. This page is the per-game pop + price + grading reference for Crystal Mines on Nintendo NES — updated weekly from PSA’s official population data and PriceCharting’s market catalog.
Quick Facts
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Title: Crystal Mines
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Console: Nintendo NES
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Variants tracked by PSA: 2
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Total PSA-graded copies: 5 (Loose: 0 · CIB: 0 · Sealed: 5)
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PriceCharting market data: available
Variant Comparison
PSA recognizes 2 distinct production variants of Crystal Mines, each tracked on its own population row because collectors value them differently.
| Variant | Loose Pop | CIB Pop | Sealed Pop | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Country | — | — | 2 | 2 |
| No Country, Micro Genius Sticker | — | — | 3 | 3 |
PSA Pop by Condition
PSA tracks Crystal Mines populations independently for loose carts, complete-in-box (CIB), and factory-sealed copies — collectors price each condition separately because rarity and demand diverge sharply. Tables below show the grade-tier breakdown per condition, aggregated across 2 variants PSA recognizes for this title.
Loose Cartridge
PSA hasn’t graded any loose copies of Crystal Mines for Nintendo NES yet.
Complete in Box (CIB)
PSA hasn’t graded any cib copies of Crystal Mines for Nintendo NES yet.
Factory Sealed
Total graded: 5
Sealed summary by variant:
| Variant | Total Pop | Top Numeric Grade | Best Seal Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| No Country | 2 | 8.5 | B+ |
| No Country, Micro Genius Sticker | 3 | 9.0 | A |
Factory Sealed Grade × Seal Matrix
Rows show PSA numeric grades. Columns show seal grades. Cell values are PSA population counts. Aggregated across all variants. Top observed grade: 9.0 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A | B+ | B | C+ | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.0 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 8.5 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| 8.0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 2 |
| <6.5 | — | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
Per-variant grade × seal matrices
Click any variant to expand its full grade × seal breakdown.
No Country (2 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 8.5 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | B+ | C+ | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8.5 | — | 1 | 1 |
| 8.0 | 1 | — | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 2 |
No Country, Micro Genius Sticker (3 sealed pop)
Top observed grade: 9.0 (PSA scale extends to 10).
| Grade | A | B | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.0 | 1 | — | 1 |
| 8.0 | 1 | — | 1 |
| <6.5 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Current Market Prices
All prices below are pulled directly from PriceCharting’s public catalog and refreshed each time this article regenerates (typically weekly). PriceCharting computes their values from active and recently-sold listings on eBay + their dealer network — independent of any data on this page. The Sealed column reflects PriceCharting’s “manual-only” / new tier — factory-sealed retail at average condition; specific graded-sealed prices vary sharply by numeric grade + seal letter (use the Sealed eBay browse link below for grade-specific comps).
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Loose cartridge: $27
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Complete in Box (CIB): $80
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Sealed: $128
All 2 PSA-tracked variants share the same PriceCharting prices because PriceCharting indexes at the title level, not the variant level. Variant-specific pricing surfaces on eBay sold-comp data — check the Sealed / CIB / Loose browse links below for variant-aware market signals.
Heritage Graded Sales
Heritage Auctions sold results below are real auction transactions for Crystal Mines on Nintendo NES. They complement the PriceCharting loose / CIB / sealed benchmarks above; they are not estimates and they are not blended into PriceCharting’s ungraded market prices.
Summary rows are title-level Heritage sale signals, sorted by format, recency, and realized-price signal. PSA production variants can price differently, so the sale records keep Heritage’s own variant notes visible instead of pretending every auction lot maps cleanly to a PSA variant row.
High-grade games can trade years apart, so older auction records stay visible; treat the latest-sale date as part of the comp, not just the dollar amount.
| Format | Grade | Sale signal | Latest sale | Comps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factory sealed (Micro Genius Sticker) | WATA 8.0 A | Last sale $238 | Oct 29, 2024 | 1 |
| Factory sealed (the Plattsburgh Collection) | WATA 8.0 B+ | Last sale $204 | Dec 20, 2022 | 1 |
| CIB (the Hawaii Collection) | CGC 9.0 | Last sale $89 | Oct 3, 2023 | 1 |
Sale records:
| Date | Sold For | Grader / Grade | Format | Variant Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 29, 2024 | $238 | WATA 8.0 A | Factory sealed | Micro Genius Sticker | Lot 312444-70004 |
| Oct 3, 2023 | $89 | CGC 9.0 | CIB | the Hawaii Collection | Lot 312340-66008 |
| Dec 20, 2022 | $204 | WATA 8.0 B+ | Factory sealed | the Plattsburgh Collection | Lot 312251-68030 |
Listings
Each link below opens an eBay search filtered to that condition, scoped to Crystal Mines on Nintendo NES. “Sold” pulls completed/sold listings (use this for price research). “Listings” pulls current active listings (use this to find a copy to buy).
Why Crystal Mines Matters for Grading
PSA has graded only 5 copies of Crystal Mines for Nintendo NES across all conditions — a tiny population that puts collectors who own a graded copy in a roster of fewer than 10 known holders. Notable: every graded copy is in the sealed condition — collectors clearly favor that condition tier for this title, and the other conditions are either ungraded territory or grade-and-flip opportunities. Sealed copies trade at roughly 4× the loose price ($128 vs $27). Solid spread for grading speculation if you can source a clean sealed cart. Because PSA tracks 2 variants separately, production-code identification matters before submission. The pop-by-variant breakdown above tells you which variant is the rarer find.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Crystal Mines Nintendo NES worth grading?
Strong yes for clean copies. With only 5 graded copies on record, Crystal Mines is squarely in the rare-population tier for Nintendo NES — and PSA grading adds meaningful provenance on titles with this little supply. Grade-and-hold is the play; flipping mid-grade copies thins margins fast.
How rare is a graded sealed copy of Crystal Mines?
PSA tracks 5 graded sealed copies of Crystal Mines for Nintendo NES. The grade-tier breakdown above shows how those split across PSA’s numeric grades — top-grade copies (9.4+) are the scarcest and typically command the strongest premiums.
Should I buy a graded or raw copy of Crystal Mines?
Depends on your goal. Graded copies cost more upfront but come with PSA’s authenticity + condition guarantee — the right move for buy-and-hold collectors. Raw copies are cheaper but require condition assessment yourself, and the grading lottery means a $50 raw cart can come back as a $25 PSA 7 OR a $200 PSA 9.4. Use the per-condition pop and price data above to calculate expected value before you commit.
Why does PSA track multiple variants of Crystal Mines?
PSA recognizes 2 distinct production variants of Crystal Mines on Nintendo NES. Variants reflect real production differences — different factories (Made in Japan vs Made in Mexico), packaging die changes, ESRB-rating retrofits added partway through the console’s life, or Players Choice reissues from later runs. Collectors price them differently because rarity diverges, and PSA tracks each on its own population row so the data reflects the real market structure.
Sources
Pop counts pulled weekly from PSA Video Games population data. Prices from PriceCharting. PSA acquired WATA in July 2021 and completed the rebrand to PSA Video Games on October 20, 2025. PSA Video Games population data is the continuation of WATA’s population history. Heritage graded-sale comps come from Heritage Auctions sold archive lot pages linked in the sale-record table.
Related Resources
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Nintendo NES Game Library (forthcoming) — every variant PSA tracks for this console.
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Retro Video Game Collecting — pillar with broader strategy, market dynamics, and grading economics.