Imagine going through those unpacked boxes that have sat in your basement for years and finding out its worth millions of dollars.
An unnamed resident of Regina hit the jackpot after finding out he had a case of 1979-1980 O-Pee-Chee hockey cards.
The reason for the case of cards being worth multimillions, is that it could contain as many as 27 rookie cards of "The Great One" Wayne Gretzky. While that sounds like a high chance at getting the holy grail of a Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) graded 10 Gretzky card, there are only two currently known. Mike Davis, Owner of Eastridge Sports Cards and Games in Calgary explains why there are so few out there.
"The card itself isn't that rare, I'm actually just reading an email of someone trying to sell one to me right now. However, it's getting them in really high condition. That is the key." Davis said. "Cards are graded on a scale of 1 to 10. There have only ever been two 10's (of Gretzky) in all of the ones graded."
While today hockey cards are focused on producing better conditions of its cards, in the 1980's it was more about selling the gum that was included in the pack of cards.
"Back then the manufacturing process wasn't about making the cards good quality, it was all about how to make people buy more bubblegum." he continued.
Davis joked about having customers come in and try some gum in the packs from the 80's. When asked if the gum still holds up to today, he explained that it completely disintegrates in your mouth upon chewing.
When the card was first released only two companies were producing cards Davis explained. Today there is only one, but Upper Deck who is the sole producer of the cards has implemented a higher standard in its production of cards.
"Back in the day there was only two companies, O-Pee-Chee in Canada and Topps in the U.S. that printed the cards, and they were identical. Upper Deck now is the only manufacturer of licensed hockey cards; however, they make 20 plus sets a year." Davis said. "Those sets range from the entry level packs which are typically about $79 for a box of 20 packs, all the way to a product called "The Cup" which is their highest end product (depending on the year and the market) it sells for over $1,000 and it's one pack of six cards."
The reason for the high prices on the premium packs from Upper Deck is because of what is included. Cards that have memorabilia in the card itself as well as cards that are limited printed raise the price of the packs.
"In those packs the top rookie cards have pieces of their jersey, plus the cards are signed and top five or six rookies they only make 99 copies of their cards." he said.
While even a lower graded Gretzky rookie card could fetch you thousands of dollars, the rookie phenom Connor Bedard is making a case that one day his card could reach the wealth of "The Great One".
"Now they even serial number cards as low as one of one, where in that particular colour parallel they only make one copy of it. So, some of those will go onto be a ridiculous amount money if he goes on to have a great career."