http://numismaticcrimes.org/?q=node/253 Apparently this dealer was coming back from a show and was robbed when he left his material unattended at his house.
I would think that the ANA and other collectibles organizations could help with the current increase in dealer thefts. Either high-tech gadgets that could be attached to the roof of a car/van etc. looking back and uplinked to an internet site that records images for security purposes, a visible "dummy" unit that would deter thefts; a tracking device shaped like a coin, etc., that could be put in with the collectibles and guide the cops to the bad guys. The wealthy companies generally have high-end security options while the weekend show dealers are perplexed by the costs connected to defending themselves against potential robberies.
The ANA, at this year's Summer Seminar, is offering a week-long course called "Think Like a Thief". COL Steve Ellsworth of Butternut, myself, and Doug Davis of the Numismatic Crime Information Center (linked in the first post) will be teaching it. We will be covering all aspects of coin dealer security including firearms training. I think there are some seats left! As to the electronic gadgets, there is a product coming to market soon that I hope to "show and tell" at the course. Works along the lines of the LoJack system for vehicle theft.
Just stream-of-consciousness-thinking here..... Couldn't one just buy a disposable cell phone or a "pay-as-you-go" cell phone that has a gps tracking unit in it that could be traced and toss it into the cases of coins? I've heard of cops tracking muggers who have robbed people of their cell phones and caught them within an hour by locating them with the phone's gps. I believe most, if not all cell phones have a gps unit built in. This would be a relatively inexpensive way to go. Also, the phone company could help track the location of the phone if it's used.
Sad to hear. But, this seems as though this happens once a year. Someone returns from a show & leaves their stuff in the car.
When attending local coin shows, I'm paranoid enough to watch if anyone follows me in my car. So far, so good.
I would think that after hearing of the other hundreds of reports of dealers leaving inventory in their cars only to have them stolen in less than five minutes (there seems to be at least 978 million such cases :rollling: ) that most would be smarter than that by now. Guess I was wrong. Guy
You would think so but they have been ripping them off like this or when they stop to eat etc for over forty years. You hear about at least a half dozen or more incident every year and I'm sure there are a lot more of them we never hear about. Tom Reynolds got ripped out exactly the same way over ten years ago. Followed all the way home, carried his show cases in the house came back out and his coins were gone. The dealers just keep doing the same things over and over again. In this case there were THREE people there, but ALL of them went in the house and left the coins unattended.
Man, that's terrible. I like some of your ideas about a gps tracking unit. Someone should make fake coins with tracking chips in them. Or use coins like a magicians coin. Then you could place them in your inventory and hopefully catch some of these jerks. Coin-lojack.
In this instance they could have used a new fandangled high-tech gadget some refer to as a door lock. In most cases it requires the operator to reach over with a finger and press a button. It's a burden, I know, but it's the price we pay for security. Hopefully he gets some of his stuff back and doesn't repeat his actions....don't laugh, many times the same dealers are hit multiple times in the exact same way. Guy
Sucks to hear about it. But I find it odd that dealers or anybody who carries large amounts of money aren't more aware to be more careful. And also as a precaution I think all dealers should have a gps tracker (like a cellphone) in each of their showcase, bag or whatever they use. I do hope they catch the thief.
Col. Steve Ellsworth lists a number of security tips on his website. Some include http://www.butternut.org/coins/tip8.html and http://www.butternut.org/coins/tip4.html. Steve also rates security at coin shows (see page 120 of the April issue of Penny-Wise). These articles are well worth reading.
You would have to have a device already linked to a security system; cell phone companies will in my experience not go to bat for customers to locate stolen ones unless the cops have a warrant. I have had cell phones stolen when I was teaching in school and both Verizon and the cops had no interest in tracking.
Those "high-tech gadgets" already exist and can be purchased by anyone. However, the dealer should have secured the car in his driveway regardless of how long he was inside the house. But he still doesn't deserve to be robbed.
