Rare Gretzky card case from Sask. back on the market after multimillion-dollar deal collapsed

A multimillion-dollar box of hockey cards is going back up for auction after a failed transaction.

Back in April, CBC confirmed that Ontario-based real estate agent Jack Arshawsky won the auction for a case containing thousands of unopened 1979-1980 O-Pee-Chee brand hockey cards — the set that contains Wayne Gretzky's rookie card — for $3.72 million US.

But Heritage Auctions, the Texas-based company that put the cards up for sale, said that money never came through and it is moving on after the botched deal.

In April, Arshawsky said he had not paid the full amount for the cards and wanted them to be safe at Heritage Auctions until he could find a good location for them.

In a phone call with CBC this week, Arshawsky said that he's not 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.

"I'm not sure what happened with it. Did it go to the right account [or] account number?" Arshawsky said. "The thing [about] an amount like that, [it's] pretty significant when it's being wired."

Chris Ivy, the director of sports category for Heritage Auctions, disputed Arshawsky's answer.

"As far as I'm aware, that doesn't sound like very much of that is accurate," Ivy said.

"All I could say is that he did not, he never sent any form of payment for the lot."

WATCH | In April, Arshawsky said he wanted to sell the case to a celebrity, or maybe gift it to a childhood crush: 

Man who won rare Gretzky card auction wants to sell to Gretzky, Drake, or gift to childhood crush

8 months ago

Duration 5:59

The winner of the multi-million dollar 1979-1980 O-Pee-Chee hockey card case containing thousands of cards, no longer wants the auction item and is trying to find them a "better home." Jack Arshawsky floated Wayne Gretzky, NHL team owners, Drake and a "true soulmate" as possible recipients.

Going up for auction again

The box of unopened hockey cards was found in a Saskatchewan family's attic. Heritage Auctions estimated there could be as many as 25 to 27 Gretzky rookie cards in the case.

A single rookie Gretzky card has previously sold at auction for $3.75 million US.

Ivy said the auction house estimated the value of the case at about $3 million US. When it goes up for auction again on Saturday, the required starting bid will be $750,000 US.

Arshawsky said that he might end up bidding for the same case again. 

Ivy shot that idea down.

"No," he said. "Any person that participates in an auction and doesn't pay, their account is permanently suspended."

Ivy said this is a rare occurrence for the company, which is approaching $2 billion in sales this calendar year. Less than one per cent of lots it sells end up not being paid for, he said.

Clients like Arshawsky have to go through a vetting process to make sure they are "creditworthy" before bidding. 

Arshawsky said he was always good for the money, stating he has a fortune of upwards of $200 million.

Possible repercussions

Rich Mueller, the editor of Sports Collectors Daily, said on CBC's The 306 radio show that he suspects something was off about the whole ordeal.

"Maybe he realized that there was going to be a cost to receive this thing and to have it shipped to him or to store it somewhere here in the States," Mueller said.

The 3069:28A Gretzky rookie hockey card is going back on the market

If you missed your chance last spring to bid on that rare multi-million dollar case of hockey cards found in Saskatchewan, you'll get another turn. The man who won the bid had a change of heart and now that unopened case - is going back to auction. We spoke to a sports collector on the hockey card debacle.

Mueller said bidders in high profile auctions like this one typically enter into contracts with the auction company and there were likely multiple options on how to go forward after the deal fell through.

"I'm sure there were dozens of phone calls and legal options and conversations with the consigner about, you know, 'What do you want to do? You want to put it back up for auction? Do you want to sue this guy?'"

Ivy from Heritage Auctions said he didn't want to comment on if legal action was considered, but that he spoke with the consigners and determined re-offering the case was the best next step.

"I haven't heard anything from my lawyers or anything like that," Arshawsky said when asked by CBC if there were any legal repercussions.

Arshawsky said he didn't deal with much of the auction business once he made the final bid, and was instead flying to Hong Kong on a business trip while his lawyers and accountants figured everything out.

"I was traveling internationally because I have some projects that I'm involved in outside of Canada, so I left that all up to the accountants and the lawyers," he said. "I wasn't really, like, hands-on."