$100,000 worth of memorabilia, merchandise stolen from Lincoln Square sports card and gaming shop

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A small Lincoln Square neighborhood card and memorabilia shop is out big money after someone broke in and stole some of the store's priciest items.

CBS 2's Charlie De Mar spoke Wednesday with the owner, who is hoping to catch the person who did it.

The owner of Elite Sports Cards & Comics, 2028 W. Montrose Ave., says whoever is responsible knew what they were doing and knew exactly what they were looking for - wasting no time inside.

He is now offering up a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Rare collectibles cover the shelves at Elite Sports Cards & Comics, which has been in business for about three decades.

"When I saw (items) on the ground, I automatically knew that there was something was wrong," said owner Ronnie Holloway.

Early morning surveillance video from last week shows a man rifling through the now-empty display cases — funneling an estimated $100,000 worth of merchandise into a bag.

Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Michael Jordan were just some of the big-ticket sports cards swiped.

For Holloway, it amounted to 30 years of collecting

"To see that gone in three and a half minutes is really hard," he said.

And this wasn't your typical smash-and-grab. The thief got in and out through a back window.

He apparently used tools to cut into the concrete and remove metal bars from the window, and then stack some bricks to climb inside.

"This was well planned out," Holloway said, "It was someone that knew exactly where to go, how to do it, and how quick to get it done."

Holloway believes the store was cased by a man who was in the shop just a few days before the heist. He has been in before, but unlike the previous times, he was wearing a hat and facemask – in what Holloway says was possibly an attempt to hide his identity.

"I'd like them to return it," Holloway said. "You know, they took a part of me that is personal. This is my personal collection."

The store owner says he has insurance and those rare cards are insured, but he says the insurance company won't cover what was taken.