Since Presentation Blastoise isn't higher on this list, it's safe to say that it has been dethroned by now, but at the time, this sale created a huge shift in the Pokmon marketplace
Jandor's Ring cost way too much to play, and Jalum Tome itself is usable only once per turn, but Compulsion can keep you cycling through your deck as long as you have and a card to pitch away each time
Non-Roman alphabet languages generally demand a higher price for their cool factor: The cheapest of the tier one languages is Japanese, considered to be the third most expensive but most accessible of foreign language cards due to the fact that most LGSes worldwide have Japanese booster allocations
From a constructed standpoint, purple would have a difficult time, at least at first
Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World
Some reports suggest that this was caused by the dullness of the dies employed to cut the cards