Sask. family’s rare case of hockey cards from Gretzky’s rookie year sells for $2.52 million US
Months after it was first believed to be sold, a case of rare hockey cards went up for auction a second time and was bought for $2.52 million US.
Put up for auction by a Saskatchewan family, the case contains more than a dozen smaller boxes of card packs. Overall there are thousands of unopened 1979-1980 O-Pee-Chee brand hockey cards inside. Experts estimate there could be 25 to 27 Wayne Gretzky rookie cards inside.
The value of Gretzky rookie cards varies wildly. Some in poor condition may be worth a few hundred dollars, but those in mint condition have often sold for more than $200,000, with one going for $3.75 million US at an auction in 2021.
According to Heritage Auctions, the company running the sale, the case of cards sold on Thursday.
It’s the second time it has been auctioned this year. Back in April, Jack Arshawsky — a man from Toronto with a self proclaimed fortune of upwards of $200 million — made the winning bid at $3.72 million.
It all came crumbling down after Arshawsky never wired the money to the American auction house.
In a phone call with CBC earlier this year, Arshawsky said he wasn’t sure what happened, but mentioned that when wiring large amounts of money, it can “disappear in cyberspace” and take a long time to track down.
The winner of the multimillion-dollar case of 1979-1980 O-Pee-Chee hockey cards — the set that contains Wayne Gretzky’s rookie card — says he no longer wants them and is trying to find them a ‘better home.’
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