Brinks shipment from Professional Coin Grading Service to Heritage Auctions stolen

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Shipment Theft Reported of a Newly Discovered and Finest Known 1870-CC $20, NGC AU58

http://www.coinsweekly.com/en/News/4?&id=846

October 27, 2011 – A Brinks shipment from Professional Coin Grading Service to Heritage Auctions on October 17th was apparently broken into, and the finest known 1870-CC $20 stolen. The coin is graded AU58 by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation and carries NGC Certification ID 3414402-001.

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I posted on this last week, thanks for the reminder. I am sure insurance is covering this to the full. There is simply no good way for the thieves to fence this rarity. Anyone with the kind of money to buy it would probably be smart enough to pass on stolen goods. Still if someone tried to spirit it out of the U.S., it would have to go through customs where a savvy agent would be on the lookout for it. Let's hope it turns up like Julian Leidman's treasure trove.

 

Something about this story stinks. I know the armored business very well. All packages are followed by a paper trail. Part of this paper trail is for all pages to have a seal with a number on it. Or in a bag that shows if anyone has tampered with it. They are not going to ship a cardbord box with no seals or no bag number on it. I bet the FBI already knows who has the coin.

 

This has got to be the bummer of all time for Heritage Auctions. They sent the coin to PCGS to get it to crossover. No dice on that? Why?? They ship what has to be one of the rarest in the series and probably the best of that date and mint back to Heritage and it gets stolen!

I for one am grateful for the courteous people I have known at Heritage, they did not deserve this.

 

Anyone with that kind of money could also be the person who initiated the crime. There are many unknown owners of high end missing collectibles. And to get it out of the country, is one of the easier parts of its journey.

 

Inside job. That's my first reaction..

 

This happens so infrequently with Brinks, you may be right that someone knew what was in that shipment and decided Christmas was going to come a little early this year.

There is a moral to this story for all of us. Be prepared for the worst. If you have something this valuable consider hiring one of those paid couriers with a handcuff connecting the merchandise to his arm. Also, if you have signifcant valuables arm yourself to the teeth.

 

I would never ever have thought of that on my own, however after being widowed for a year, I was advised to part with silver and swap for gold (at the time the gain was 58% when all was said and done.) In any event, the advisor realizing that I had NO CLUE about what to do, hand walked me meticulately through every record I would require, told me how to physically handle and prepare what needed to be sent out, and then arranged for a driver (two actually) to pick everything up. I have told this before, in a long ago thread, but when they arrived at my home, they were armed, and one never left the truck unattended. It was No Joke, and scared the tar out of me. It made me realize at that time that gold and silver are serious business. As they took care of me that well, I will never use another "go-between". In truth, it is scary, still, whether in one's home or bank box..



Lucy

 

The downside is pretty much unlimited with grand larceny--being cleaned out or gunned down. I see Nachbar has been recommending swaps of coins for bullion. When you have a huge hoard nothing should be left to chance.

 

DuH. Yeah, just drop it in the mail and let the Post Office "spirit" it away.

 

Lucy, where I live, they are very serious about protecting the money. Trying to Steal from an armored car company has to be the riskiest thing a person can do.

 

How much was this coin really even worth?

 

1 Million or more in a hot auction.

 

Hehe... what if the thief is a numismatist and doesn't plan to sell it?

 

If he gets caught he would be in prison for quite a while. Would anyone in their right mind entertain such a deal?

 

That isn't a million dollar coin.

As someone who has a friend that works as an armed courier, I'd never mess with them. I go to the gun range with him from time to time, the dude is a heck of a marksman. Former military spec ops too.

 

It could easily go for that at auction. It is the rarest CC $20 and the highest graded. I checked out Heritage's archives. Question is whether it was insured for the absolute maximum.

 

Won't the insured amount typically be based on appraisal value.

 

I disagree, I think it would hammer around $400-$500k.

 

In a high end rarity that could go for varying amounts at auction I don't know how the insurance company would pay out after all resources are exhausted. The appraisal is probably based on current auction records but this coin goes to auction infrequently.

I checked population figures; NGC has one at this grade none higher. PCGS would not cross it over, they don't have any at or above this level. There is no way to tell what it would go for at auction. Would you rather have the rarest CC $20 or an ultra high relief or other six or seven figure coin? People for whom money is no limitation will pay what they need to. Price guides only go to $550K or so.