Home » Society Crime » Crime Theft » South American Theft Crime Groups » Targeting Coin Dealers Targeting Coin Dealers in Crimes Prevention & Resource Directory

The bad pennies wont be at the Texas Coin Show in Grapevine this weekend. They may be in the parking lot, though.Experts say securitys tight and robberies are rare inside big coin shows like the one starting at the Grapevine Convention Center today, but outside is a different story.Dealers and collectors carrying highdollar coins in parking lots, hotel lobbies and along highways can be easy marks for organized coin thieves, and the losses arent small change.A band of hooded, masked robbers nabbed $4 million in rare coins at knifepoint from a man unloading his car in a hotel parking lot last weekend in Florida. The man was taking part in the Florida United Numismatists annual coin show at the areas convention center and had the expensive copper, silver and gold coins in a Samsonite suitcase.The problem isnt at the shows. Its the coming to the shows and the leaving the shows,said Doug Davis, an expert in numismatic crimes who consults with police agencies and the FBI.Its incumbent on the dealers to not become apathetic and take the precautions themselves to keep their inventory safe.Millions of dollars in rare coins are stolen each year nationwide, and law enforcement officials believe members of the Russian mafia and Colombian gangs might stake out coin conventions looking for people to target.Thieves have been known to make small punctures in a coin dealers car tire, then follow as he drives away from the coin show. When the tire goes flat miles away from the event and the dealer pulls to the side of the road to investigate, the thieves pull up behind and rob him of his coins.Other thieves have followed collectors home from shows, waiting to hold them up in their own driveways.They followed one guy from a convention in Florida back to his home in Nebraska, said Mr. Davis, former police chief of Pantego and now the city manager. He also consults with coin show operators to help them improve their security.Steven K. Ellsworth, a former Green BeretturnedVirginia coin dealer, said smart thieves know that coin dealers are better marks than even banks, where security cameras, marked bills, dye packs and armed security guards make robberies risky.And the FBI investigates bank holdups.Banks dont even keep that much cash around, said Mr. Ellsworth, also a coin collector.But a coin collector or dealer can be carrying around thousands – or millions – of dollars in coins in something as unobtrusive as a cardboard box in the back of the car.Most have no security guards, cameras or guns with them, and local police often have little expertise in investigating the crimes.I dont know one coin dealer that has had professional security training, Mr. Ellsworth said. Its mindboggling that they are traveling around with that much merchandise but no training.

 

Address: 508 Young St.Dallas, TX 75202
Telephone: 214-977-8222
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-coinsecurity_12met.ART0.North.Edition1.3d84f87.html