Leu auction 6 coins stolen

Terrible news. I hope that those who did the deed are apprehended soon.

 

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All the lots I won in that auction are now stolen . Surprised they didn't mention it to the bidders as this is news to me. Paid via Bank Transfer and hence it takes some time for it to clear. Totally sucks.

 

You're hearing about it for the first time on CoinTalk, as fourth-hand information?! That is unacceptable!

I'm so sorry for your losses!!

 

Really bites and it is unacceptable! Some of those coins were scarce to rare. Hard to replace...

 

Thats lame. Sorry to hear that @Quant.Geek

 

How awful! I won a lot in the auction, but it's already been shipped. I feel terrible for those whose coins were taken, including @Quant.Geek. I also feel bad for the coins, and hope that they turn up and aren't destroyed. There are surely a limited number of places to sell the more expensive ones taken, and I hope they will be keeping an eye on eBay.

 

I'm sorry to hear that @Quant.Geek At the very last I hope Leu is prompt in returning your money.

That is my fear too. There was an infamous silver thief in the U.S. that stole millions of dollars worth of antique silver place settings, tea and coffee pots, and other objects. While some of it was sold on the secondary market, a lot of it was smashed with a hammer and sold for melt value. Some of the items were irreplaceable, such as silverware made by Paul Revere and silver cups that belonged to George II of England.

 

Sadly I'm in the same situation as @Quant.Geek. (Including not hearing about it until just now when I checked CT.) I asked a payment question by email and didn't get a reply for a while, then paid by transfer thus the delay. All six of my wins are gone. Several were on my top 10 list.

A first-issue Alexander lifetime tet (Tarsus, under Balakros; I found out this was a first issue on CT, from Mikey Zee). A denarius from Cicero's consulship year, the year of the famous Catiline conspiracy. A nice Commodus portrait. A Zeno AE4 (been wanting one of those for a long time). An irreplaceable Byzantine weight made from a coin of Honorius. And a rare Crusader dirham with Christian legends in Arabic.

 

Heartbreaking .

 

Wow, very sorry to hear that CT members were affected by this. I hope your money gets returned soon.

 

Awful! I'm so sorry.

 

Yeah, sorry to any who lost lots. I was underbidder on a few, but had to work that day and wasn't at my computer to pursue them harder or I would have won some of them.

 

Actually I had planned to bid on some of the coins. This auction had a really nice selection of early tetradrachms of Alexander III but I managed to mess up the time zone situation and when I got to the auction the coins I was interested in were already finished. Actually it was probably a good thing. We had a postal strike through November and part of December so two of three coins and one book took about a month to get to me. I do hope that this does not destroy Leu Numismatik. It is a new firm and a loss like this could be really devastating.

 

I really feel for your loss Severus Alexander. The Tarsos was one of the Alexander's I was looking at but .... sleep got the better of me.. It is always frustrating when a coin goes missing. I have had a few go astray but not many. The worst thing is that it puts you in a kind of limbo. If you see a similar coin to one that is gone.... do you buy it? I am lucky that maybe 7 or 8 coins have gone missing over my whole career in collecting.

 

latest email on this horrible situation:
Burglary at Leu Numismatik
Relevant information should be directed to info@leunumismatik.com or
+41 52 214 11 10
––
Dear Sir or Madam,

We are contacting you to let you know that our offices have, sadly, fallen victim to burglary on Christmas Eve. The thieves stole parts of our Web Auction 6 (9 December 2018), which were being prepared for post Christmas-shipment. The burglary is currently under investigation by the Swiss authorities, who are doing their best to crack the case. Nonetheless, we would like to urge you to have a look at the stolen lots - a full list including pictures and short descriptions can be be found here: Leu Web Auction 6 - stolen lots, and pictures of ten higher value and easily recognizable coins have been attached to this Newsletter. Reselling thieved ancient coins is not easy – should you encounter any of the missing items in the near or distant future or be able to provide any other relevant information, we kindly ask you to contact us immediately.

Last but not least, we would also like to thank you for all the sympathetic and supportive reactions and messages – they are much appreciated.

2019 – New Year, New Luck!

Notwithstanding these sad events, we are eagerly preparing for the upcoming year, which at Leu starts with Web Auction 7 (24 February 2019), featuring a selection of 1500 lots from 2500 years of history. Please note that the consignment deadline for Web Auction 7 is 10 January 2019.

What is more, we are already working on our spring sale, Leu Auction 4, which takes place on 25 May in Zürich, Switzerland. The interest amongst our customers is great, and Leu 4 will hence be our largest floor sale thus far, this much is already clear. Should you consider parting from important individual pieces or whole collections, this would be a perfect opportunity to have your treasures offered in our much-praised catalogues. Contact us now and we will happily advise you via email, phone or by personal appointment. The consignment deadline for Auction 4 is 10 March 2019.

We wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

With best regards,
Yves Gunzenreiner, Lars Rutten, Piotr Tomczyk

 

Thanks, Terry.

It's good to hear that they're forging ahead with their next sales. It will be interesting to hear more details of what happened. Was this a super-professional job, or was the firm insufficiently careful?