Goodwill Worker Finds Rare $10,000 Atari Video Game In Donation Box

KEY POINTS

A Goodwill employee in a Texas location discovered a valuable Atari game in a box of video games donated to the branch
There are reportedly only 13 known copies of the Atari game "Air Raid"
The Atari game sold for more than $10,000 at an online auction held by Goodwill

A Goodwill branch in Texas recently found a rare and valuable Atari game in a box of old video games it had received as a donation.

The discovery was made by Alex Juarez, a Goodwill e-commerce item processor in Texas, while he was digging into one of the many boxes donated to the location. The rare copy of "Air Raid," an Atari 2600 game released in 1982 and published by Men-A-Vision, sold for more than $10,000 at an online auction held by the company on June 17.

"Air Raid" is widely considered as one of the rarest Atari games in the world, with only 13 copies known to exist. Juarez was able to recognize the value of the game with the help of his father, who was a video game aficionado, Fox News reported.

The game cartridge was easy to spot due to its unique T-shape handle.

“Very few copies of the game were released, making it incredibly sought after by retro video game collectors, despite its lackluster gameplay,” said Liz Confiliano, director of community engagement for Goodwill.

According to Shay Dial Johnson, vice president of community engagement, there is no way to find out if the original owner of the game donated it without knowing how valuable it was. She also said that the copy is one of the most valuable items the north central Texas branch has ever received.

After being listed for auction on its website for seven days, the Atari game sold for $10,590.79.

“This is the highest-selling single-piece item that we’ve had,” Rosemary Cruz, vice president of donated goods/retail, said in a video the organization produced about the discovery.

According to Johnson, "With the $10,000 earned from the sale of this one item, Goodwill North Central Texas can provide day habilitation services for a year for one adult with disabilities; or provide 20 homeless individuals with job placement services and community resources; or help 10 at-risk youth earn their GED and a paycheck at the same time."

"Air Raid" lets players take control of an airship designed to defend the Earth.