Rick Snow could use your help. Stolen coin.

Rick is playing it smart. It's too early to be giving out all the details. For now he just needs for folks to be watching for the coin. I'm sure all the information will come out at some point.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

This may be hard for some of your to swallow, but its been my observation that many nicer coins that are stolen at shows are lifted by other dealers. Many "early birds" get in before some dealers are fully set up and take advantage of a little disarray at the tables. That said, I don't think this is the situation with Rick and this coin.
Sure hope it turns up. If not its likely in a private collection.
One other thought, there was a heist several years ago of a really nice a unique collection. The gold coins and many silver coins were melted for bullion, but many unique coins were summarily dumped in a very deep lake. Such a shame the thieves just couldn't have mailed them back.

 

@chip

That's great you collect IHCs, Chip, but are you really so naive as to think that just because you would do this or that, the same must be true for everyone? You seem to imply as much by using that as your (partial) retort. I certainly didn't say nor remotely imply that ANY collector would do such a thing, but if you honestly believe that there are not so-called "collectors" out there who not only would, but would jump at the chance (regardless the fact "they can't show it off to anyone", etc), you're living in dreamland. This is not to say you didn't make both reasonable and valid points, but if there was, in fact, absolutely and without exception, zero buyers or someone wishing to squirrel it away, for similarly valuable and/or rare coins, why bother with securing them? Is it only from those who don't understand what such coins really are and represent? If this was your coin, would you pass it around like playdough, comfortable in the belief that no one would ever steal it because of the reasons you posted? Please... you've never struck me as one who just fell off of the truck. There are many collectibles, even ones more easily identifiable than this, that end up stolen and residing in another collector's collection, even if said collector knows full well the history, and that their prized item will always carry a black eye. We don't have to like it, and this certainly is NOT meant to, in ANY way, defend such actions, but is an unfortunate reality. Again, and with all due respect; don't be so naive.

 

Anything is possible in this hobby. I once knew a dealer that would send the bad guys to customer's homes in the middle of the night. I once knew a collector that could palm a 2x2 and switch it with a different coin in a dealers tray. The guy was really good at it. It took a while for him to get caught.

With that said, there are good and bad guys on both sides of the counter. I'm sure there are more bad collectors just because of the numbers.

 

Alright, I get it bbc, I am naive because I choose to believe that stealing a coin is a stupid thing to do, that if caught your reputation would be ruined and it could lead to more losses then just the stolen coin. Tell me again where I am wrong about this.

 

Chip, you called this post total BS. Please read it again. It's clearly not.

 

Why is it hard to believe that a dealer would hand over a high dollar coin to a potential buyer for inspection? I have been handed several seven figure coins (including the King of Siam proof set and the 1794 SP-66) even though the dealer knows that there is no way that I could even make an offer. Ever stop by rare coin wholesalers table, not much there under six figures. My guess is that someone was hired to do the job and got a substitute back to rick and was gone before he realized what happened. This should have never happened to rick though, he is a genuinely nice guy. I hope he recovers the coin, but I'd be surprised if it turns up anytime soon unless he knows more than is being circulated.

 

That must've been a memorable experience to handle that dollar! That's the $10,000,000 one, right?

 

Best of luck on the recovery process... I assume insurance will pay out?

 

No, Chip; that is NOT what I said nor implied, and you're now putting words into my mouth in an attempt to deflect away from the real issue here. If you misunderstood my initial post (the one you feel is "BS"), you have my apologies, but I do not at all believe my point was unclear. Again, and for the sake of clarity, nothing i said was in defense of a thief or a collector who would knowingly purchase their, ahem, "wares", but was nothing more than pointing out the reality that such people, like it or not, do exist.

You also may want to consider the fact that there are many legitimate and honest collectors who prefer to keep their hobby private, so regardless of your feelings on the matter, common sense should suggest that there are less than honest collectors who value their privacy as well. Not everyone chooses to partake in the camaraderie that this hobby/business can provide, and this is their right. Not everyone wishes to post on a coin forum, attend shows, join a club, etc, etc, so why would such a person, lacking in morals, care that they would be unable to share or ever sell an ill gotten coin acquired for a tiny fraction of its clean value? They unfortunate fact is that some wouldn't.

 

Agreed, I was allowed to hold the 'Hawaii 5-O" 1913 V-Nickel.

Amazing experience.

 

What a bummer. I have never been at a large coin show, so I don't know how easy it would be to touch or even get access to a coin valued over $100K. I would imagine there would only be a select few individuals at a given show that would even have the means to purchase a coin of that caliber. It really seems bizarre. I would agree with other posters if it was stolen it was by some one who knew what it was and it will not resurface in our life time. Some ones nephew or third cousin will all of a sudden fine this coin in some safety deposit 80- 100 years later and it will be on. Humm??? Sounds familiar.

 

Reminds me of how the ten or so 1933 $20s still tied up in litigation just magically appeared in a safe deposit box.

 

Exactly...

 

It wasn't even certified yet, courtisi had just recieved it as part of a collection. It wasn't a surprise though, he bought the collection based on the knowledge of the dollars existence. It hope that it returns to the mint cabinet at some point.

 

Wow! I'd almost be too scared to handle it raw.

 

Wow, what a coin to go missing! I'm very curious as to why the Fly-in Club hasn't been alerted of the theft. After all, it is us that looks at IHCs for untold hours each month. I would have thought we'd be the first group to find out about it...

 

Not many folks post or view the site any longer. When it started over, all the early post and information was lost. It's rare for Rick to post there.

 

Imagine how frantic it would be if it dropped the 1913 nickel and rolled and you had difficulty finding it? Sometimes it is hard to find small coins when you drop them. I can imagine it would be difficult to tell in a show who has the means to buy a coin that is 100k plus.

 

I'm sure the coin was in a square holder so it's not likely to drop and roll......