Posted By:
Doug AllenHey All,
Sorry for the delay....the return of these cards has evolved over the past few weeks and I did not want to report back until I was confident all the cards were returned. I am pleased to report that I spent the day with my good friend whose collection was stolen and am confident that substantially all of the cards have been returned. I spent the day sorting 53-59 Topps, Cracker Jacks, M116's, M101s, etc and although some sorting remains, the collection appears to be completely intact.
This almost sounds sureal but the cards were stolen by Gypsies. Fortunately they did not know what they had, they turned them quickly and due to the wide net that was spread through e-mails, calls and forums like this the ultimate individuals who fenced them were scared into returning them. A few weeks ago they returned a large portion of them directly to my friend (literally dropped them at their door) and more recently returned the final portion of the collection after attempting to consign them to REA. The funny thing is although Rob and I are competitors when I left my friends home the day after the theft he was the first person I called personally as I knew the thiefs would try to move them out of state.
I am posting here for three reasons. First, to personally offer my thanks to everyone who supported this effort, being our eyes and ears at shows, showing concern when cards poped up on eBay...your efforts are greatly appreciated. Second and more importantly to offer the thanks of my good friend....I explained how widespread the search was and he wanted me to offer a word of gratitude to the collecting community. He hasn't been part of this community for years but is humbled by the widespread concern for him and his collection.
I will now work with him to safeguard his collection so this can't happen again. He realizes he may continue to be a target and we will take the necessary steps to make sure he can feel safe in his own home.
Finally a story with a happy ending!
Regards,
Doug