Man desperate to find wife's vintage bicycle he accidentally sold at yard sale

NEWTON, Mass. — A Newton man says he made a massive mistake and accidentally sold a vintage bicycle with great sentimental value to his wife.

Allan Steinmetz says the 1970s yellow Motobecane French Touring bike had been given to his wife on her 16th birthday by her late father more than 45 years ago.

It was a gift she cherished for decades and had planned to pass down to their first grandchild.

"This bike is absolutely priceless to not only my wife but to her family, my children and she wanted to give this bike to our granddaughter one day, which I didn’t know," said Steinmetz.

Steinmetz says he cleaned out their basement and mistakenly put the bike up for sale. He's now pleading for the man who bought the bike to return it and he says he'll do whatever it takes to get it back.

"It was important to my wife, I didn’t realize how… and that was the biggest mistake I’ve made this year so far," he said.

Allan says his father-in-law was a Holocaust survivor and had made it a priority throughout his life to give his family the very best.

"He went out and bought the best bike money could buy and he wanted my wife to feel as special as he was," Steinmetz said.

Allan's wife was too upset to speak on camera but is still holding out hope.

"I can’t win, the only thing I can win is by getting this bike back."

Allan has signs up around Newton hoping to alert anyone who was at the yard sale. He's planning on holding another one this Sunday and he's optimistic it will attract the same crowd.

Cox Media Group