A stack of trading cards can fit in a pocket. It can also be worth more than a car. As collectibles climb in value, they are becoming a target for thieves and a blind spot in a lot of people’s asset protection plans.
A Crime Wave Built on Small, Valuable Assets
In early 2026, collectible shops across the United States, Canada, and England were hit by a string of robberies. The target was Pokémon cards. In one Washington store, thieves grabbed roughly $10,000 in cards in under two minutes. Across these thefts, more than $500,000 in cards were stolen in a single year.
The price of these cards has more than doubled in the past year, and a rare one recently sold for millions. Because they are small and easy to resell for cash, a thief can slip a fortune into a jacket pocket and turn it into money fast. Stolen cards are also nearly impossible to trace, since they carry no serial numbers.
News coverage of the thefts and their fallout describes shops that now struggle to find insurers willing to cover their inventory at all.
Why This Matters Beyond Trading Cards
Pokémon cards are one example of a larger shift. Art, watches, wine, jewelry, sports memorabilia, and rare collectibles of every kind have become stores of value. Many people hold these items without treating them as the assets they have become.
That is where asset protection comes in. Protecting something valuable is not only about locks and alarms. It is about knowing what you own, proving what it is worth, and making sure it is covered and accounted for if something goes wrong.
The Gaps That Catch People Off Guard
The most common blind spots are easy to fix once you spot them:
- No current appraisal, so the true value is anyone’s guess
- Homeowner’s insurance that caps coverage for collectibles well below their worth
- No inventory or photos, which makes both recovery and claims harder
- Items left out of a will or trust, so heirs never learn what exists or what it is worth
- No plan for whether a collection should be kept, sold, or divided
Building Real Protection
Start with documentation. Photograph the collection, keep receipts, and get a professional appraisal for anything of real value. Then look hard at your insurance. Standard policies often fall short, and a scheduled rider or a separate collectibles policy may be the only way to close the gap. Finally, bring the collection into your estate plan so it passes the way you intend, with a record of its value for the people who inherit it.
The Legal Side of Protecting What You Own
Asset protection has a legal dimension that reaches well past any single collection. For people with significant wealth, the right structures can shield assets from lawsuits and creditors while keeping everything organized for the next generation. The tools vary by situation, but the goal stays the same. Keep what you have built from slipping away through a claim, a loss, or a gap in planning.
Working with an asset protection lawyer helps you match those tools to your actual holdings, whether that means proper titling, a trust, or simply confirming that a valuable collection is documented and covered.
The attorneys at Estate Planning Pros look at the whole picture, from real estate and investments to the collections people tend to overlook, and build a plan that accounts for each piece.
Take Stock Before Something Happens
The thieves in these cases understood exactly what they were taking. Owners should too. If you hold collectibles, property, or other assets that have quietly grown in value, consider having your coverage and estate plan reviewed by an attorney who can find the gaps before a loss or a lawsuit does.