A thief broke into a trading card shop in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in the early hours of Tuesday and made off with a trove of rare Pokemon cards valued at over $113,000, according to the store’s owners, reported The Guardian. Police were called to 1st Edition Collectibles early morning after the suspect reportedly smashed through a courtyard window and forced entry into the shop.
Surveillance footage shows a masked and hooded figure crouched over a glass display case, selecting specific items.
The stolen collection includes extremely rare and valuable cards, among them a BGS 8.5 Skyridge Crystal Charizard and a BGS 7.5 1st Edition Shadowless Blastoise, the owners said in a Facebook post. These are highly sought-after by collectors and no longer in print.
“He knew exactly the items he was taking,” said Felipe Andre, one of the store’s three owners, speaking to NBC Boston. “We don’t display pricing in the store at all. The value is determined by recorded sales or auctions. So he had to know what he was looking for.”
Andre added that the stolen cards came from sets dating back to 2000–2006, including what he called “the crown jewel of the entire Pokemon” series, the first edition base set Charizard. He described the shop as a labour of love for its small team. “We’re literally just three guys … This is our passion. This is what we love, since we were children,” he said, as per The Guardian.
Following the robbery, the store temporarily closed its doors.
In a Facebook update, the team wrote they would use the time to “reflect, regroup, revamp and come back even better.”
Despite the loss, Andre remains hopeful, explaining that each of the stolen cards had been individually graded and serialized by professional services. Photos and serial numbers of the stolen cards have been posted on the store’s Instagram and Facebook accounts to help with identification.
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“If anyone sees that certificate number, they’ll know exactly where it came from, and who it belongs to,” Andre told NBC 10.
(With inputs from The Guardian)
