A Canadian man’s collection of what he says were valuable Wayne Gretzky cards was stolen by two men who had expressed an interest in buying it.
According to Ontario Provincial Police Norfolk County Detachment, it happened a few weeks ago at a house not far from Gretzky’s hometown of Brantford and they are still investigating.
Constable Ed Sanchuk told Sports Collectors Daily that the owner, Archie Snively, had been collecting for decades, accumulating thousands of hockey cards and pieces of memorabilia.
Snively says he met two men at a convenience store in Simcoe, Ontario who told him they were interested in possibly purchasing the collection. The three then went back to Snively’s home.
When one of the men asked to see more of what he had, Snively went downstairs to retrieve it. That’s when Snively told police the second man apparently grabbed a book full of valuable Gretzky cards and left the house. When Snively came back upstairs, the remaining suspect then told him they had decided not to buy anything and walked out. The two men left in an older, black four-door vehicle.
Snively says the collection included a valuable group of Gretzky cards with a total value of between $150,000 and $200,000. However, he hasn’t identified any specific cards that were taken that might total that amount.
The theft has generated coverage in Canadian media coast-to-coast including this story, which appeared on CTV.
Police say the cards shown in the video aren’t representative of what was taken in the theft.
The first suspect is described as a white male, 6’2, short hair with an earring in the right ear.
The second suspect is described as a white male with grey hair.
Police say if you have information, contact Norfolk County OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
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