When we read this report from the Schuylkill Haven barracks of Pennsylvania State Police, we thought, “These must be some football cards.”
According to their report, sometime between 11 p.m. on Jan. 3 and 9 a.m. on Jan. 4, an unknown person got into Somewhere in Time Sports Collectibles, a business that’s been in the Cressona Mall for years, and made off with one very valuable case of football cards.
Police say the value of these cards is about $5,000.
That’s a lot of money for a case of football cards. Or any cards, for that matter.
Panini Impeccable Football Cards Stolen from Cressona Mall Collectible Shop
Again, we wondered, what kind of football cards are these?
According to police, it was a case of Panini Impeccable NFL cards.
OK, so you’re thinking that a case could literally be thousands and thousands of cards, so maybe they’re only valuable as a bulk item. And if that’s true, why would anyone want to steal them.
So, we did a little research and found out these aren’t just any old football cards.
First of all, a case of 2021 Panini Impeccable football cards contains exactly 24 cards. That’s it. There are 3 boxes in a case. Inside each box is 1 pack of cards. And each pack has 8 cards.
Your cynical side would say, “Jeez, those cards better be made of gold.”
They are, at least some of them. Some special cards in each case contain a gold bar with the NFL logo embedded on it or a silver bar with an American flag design.
There are autograph cards, cards with pieces of football or helmet in them. Yes, in them. Each card is pretty thick. And each card is extremely limited in quantity.
During a quick search, we found a case selling for nearly $5,200.
Police are still investigating this incident at the Cressona Mall.
Image: Panini