Million Dollar Bidding War for 1979 Hockey Cards
“The greatest unopened find of the 21st century!”
In Regina, a recently discovered case of 1979 hockey cards could be worth way over a million dollars. This case contains 16 sealed wax boxes of the 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee (OPC) hockey card series, each with 48 packs holding 10 cards, totaling 7,680 cards.
For avid collectors, the real excitement lies in the approximately 20 Wayne Gretzky rookie cards that may be found in pristine condition, as estimated by statistical odds.
“No other unopened case of 1979-80 OPC has ever surfaced in the 21st century, and it’s all but impossible to imagine another ever will,” Heritage Auctions said on it’s website. “[It’s] the greatest unopened find in the 21st century.”
By Monday night, the bidding for these cases had already exceeded $1.3 million. With the auction set to continue until late February, the final price is expected to climb even higher.
Heritage Auctions revealed that this remarkable find, dubbed the “outrageous Holy Grail” of hockey cards, went unnoticed for years as it lay buried in dust. This was due to the Regina-based seller acquiring it as part of a larger purchase.
Upon slightly opening the case, the owner discovered the white boxes and realized they contained the 1979-80 OPC card set, featuring images from Gretzky’s first professional season in 1978-79.