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$50,000 in coins swiped from collector’s car - When dealing with a FLAT TIRE

keyman64keyman64 Posts: 15,519 ✭✭✭✭✭
"If it's not fun, it's not worth it." - KeyMan64
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners. :smile:
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  • tahoe98tahoe98 Posts: 11,388 ✭✭✭

    ...stinkin' creeps!!!! image
    "government is not reason, it is not eloquence-it is a force! like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master; never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action." George Washington
  • DoubleEagle59DoubleEagle59 Posts: 8,339 ✭✭✭✭✭
    "He stopped at the Sears Auto Center at Cottman Avenue and Kindred Street in Northeast Philly, cops said.

    He went inside to inquire about the tire. When he came back out about 10 to 20 minutes later his passenger window was broken out and two bags containing about $50,000 worth of collectible coins were gone, police said. "

    First one I'd check is the new mechanic they probably just hired.

    "Gold is money, and nothing else" (JP Morgan, 1912)

    "“Those who sacrifice liberty for security/safety deserve neither.“(Benjamin Franklin)

    "I only golf on days that end in 'Y'" (DE59)
  • keyman64keyman64 Posts: 15,519 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I will not judge but on my initial read, it does sound like the valuables were sitting in plain sight in the cab of the truck...
    "If it's not fun, it's not worth it." - KeyMan64
    Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners. :smile:
  • DCWDCW Posts: 7,451 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Man, how many times does this have to happen before people learn not to leave valuable coins in the car??? Seems like 5-6 times a year, there is a collector or dealing getting jacked because they go eat, go shopping, etc. and leave their stash behind.

    Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
    "Coin collecting for outcasts..."

  • ambro51ambro51 Posts: 13,829 ✭✭✭✭✭
    ....another reason to get a wolverine
  • slipgateslipgate Posts: 2,301 ✭✭
    Wow! How hard is it to put something in the trunk? Personally I would have taken them with me or else gone home and come back after securing the coins.

    I don't like the leave anything in view in the car. A criminal will do $1000 damage to a car to steal a $20 pair of sunglasses.

    Sure hope the victim is insured.... or perhaps that was the game all along?
    My Registry Sets! PCGS Registry
  • BigMooseBigMoose Posts: 1,469 ✭✭✭
    Is he out of his friggin mind stopping in Northeast Phila. for any reason??
    TomT-1794

    Check out some of my 1794 Large Cents on www.coingallery.org
  • morgansforevermorgansforever Posts: 8,462 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The coins would have gone with me into the auto center, no question about it.
    World coins FSHO Hundreds of successful BST transactions U.S. coins FSHO
  • RYKRYK Posts: 35,797 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Is he out of his friggin mind stopping in Northeast Phila. for any reason?? >>


    Good point! He is lucky to be alive.
  • I had a squint at the neighborhood on google earth , its unremarkable until you allow yourself a minute to see whats really there. Theres a few mobile phone stores , couple of tanning salons , wines and spirits and a tavern , that has to be sears sitting there on the corner , its the only place untagged and big enough to be an auto center , the cars outside support this.
    But look right behind there , that looks like hundreds of houses , apartments and abodes , i think this car park is a thiefs hunting grounds and probably lives back there.Id bet money on it.

    target neighborhood
  • littlebearlittlebear Posts: 1,512 ✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Wow! How hard is it to put something in the trunk?

    Very difficult with a pickup truck.



    Sure hope the victim is insured.... or perhaps that was the game all along? >>



    Alas, why must we make such disparaging remarks? It reminds me of an old saying: "Never hit a man when he's down. Kick him, it's easier."


    Larry L.



    Edited to add: Colonel Steve Ellsworth of Butternut has an EXCELLENT series of articles covering many aspects of coin security at home, traveling, and at shows. It is most certainly worthwhile reading. You can read the articles on his website: www.butternut.org




    image
    Autism Awareness: There is no limit to the good you can do, if you don't care who gets the credit.
  • DBSTrader2DBSTrader2 Posts: 3,487 ✭✭✭✭
    If this is happening so many times a year, then one has to start thinking whether some of these are actually cases of insurance fraud after all.....

    I'm not saying in this specific case, but where so many (especially raw) coins can be easily converted at pawn shops, dealers' stores or show tables, "Cash-for-silver/gold" storefronts & hotel operations, etc., maybe some people are taking a "copycat" approach to the heists & filing false claims & disposing of their merchandise in this manner?

    If not, and all these heists are legitimate, I would certainly reiterate what others have said..... for common sense sake, be smarter about how you transport & display your merchandise!! Maybe travel in pairs? Vary your habits? Include a "lo-jack" in your cases? Other?

    It seems to me that a lot of these legitimate cases may be "stalkers", who follow the merchants from home/business, either looking for or creating an opportunity to jack the merchandise. Rather than being an anonymous collector who can keep his home address away from public view by using a P.O. box, these dealers' locations & habits can be easily determined by potential theives just by using a "front man" to inquire at shows re: specific coins, deals, etc & get an address, etc....

    Margins may be too low for some to employ bodyguards, etc, but what is insurance costing them, especially after a heist?




    And, by the way....... Northeast Philly is one of the "better" areas of the city (although everything is relative)........ I wonder how much merchandise he would have stood to lose if he had stopped in South Philly for the same amount of time at that Mummers clubhouse they just busted for a monthly prostitution party! imageimage
  • Harry779Harry779 Posts: 902 ✭✭
    one of our drivers had a GPS stolen in the same neighborhood.
    Crackheads.
  • epcjimi1epcjimi1 Posts: 3,489 ✭✭✭
    Flat tires happen, but not that often in today's world.

    Ever heard of that skinny, little, good for 50 mile spare in the trunk?
  • leothelyonleothelyon Posts: 8,467 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Wouldn't it make sense to circle back in 2-3 minutes to see if you've been tailed. But would you want to if you weren't packing?

    The more qualities observed in a coin, the more desirable that coin becomes!

    My Jefferson Nickel Collection

  • I'm sorry; however, where ever I go, my coins go with me.

    Garrow


  • << <i>one of our drivers had a GPS stolen in the same neighborhood.
    Crackheads. >>



    Cue the coin geezer , calling mr coin geezer , we need the " are you saying all NE Philadelphians are junkies " argument ..paging coin geezer image
  • illini420illini420 Posts: 11,466 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I'm always suspicious about the actual value of coins reported taken in these stories. Not too long ago there was a story of arounnd $100,000 coins stolen from someone... I later heard from the person who was robbed that the real amount of value was probably $2500 at the most. I understand the news reports can sometimes be incorrect, but I wonder which number was reported to the insurance company????

  • In the great scheme of things I'd rather have goods jacked from my car than to have somebody rob me while they were on my possession.

    John
    Coin Photos

    Never view my other linked pages. They aren't coin related.
  • DBSTrader2DBSTrader2 Posts: 3,487 ✭✭✭✭
    "In the great scheme of things I'd rather have goods jacked from my car than to have somebody rob me while they were on my possession......." - - John

    That's why I recommend having a travel buddy come with you, and that you leave HIM in the car with the coins in his possession when running errands!

    imageimage
  • No insurance coverage if you leave the coins in the car unattended. If I'm robbed, I'm covered.

    Garrow
  • BarryBarry Posts: 10,100 ✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>Is he out of his friggin mind stopping in Northeast Phila. for any reason?? >>


    Good point! He is lucky to be alive. >>


    I know the show and know the area. It's not THAT bad, RYK. You may be confusing it with North Phila. The difference is like night and day.

    I, too, think they guy was set up. Someone knew he was going to the show and would have valuables in the car.
  • AnkurJAnkurJ Posts: 11,370 ✭✭✭✭
    Northeast Philly is actually a great area.

    Quite often my wife asks me to stop and pick up groceries or lunch on my way home from a show. I never leave my bag unattented anywhere. If I have too much on me, I will go home first and then back out to run errands.
    All coins kept in bank vaults.
    PCGS Registries
    Box of 20
    SeaEagleCoins: 11/14/54-4/5/12. Miss you Larry!


  • << <i>

    << <i>

    << <i>Is he out of his friggin mind stopping in Northeast Phila. for any reason?? >>


    Good point! He is lucky to be alive. >>


    I know the show and know the area. It's not THAT bad, RYK. You may be confusing it with North Phila. The difference is like night and day.

    I, too, think they guy was set up. Someone knew he was going to the show and would have valuables in the car. >>



    Not that easy to set up a flat tyre and know he doesnt have a spare. The location is ideal for sneak thieves looking at google earth , a hop skip n jump is the housing area.Im usually in the suspicious club suspecting insurance fraud but in this instance i can see it being a sneak thief easily.The houses look out to the car park , easy pickings for a thief.
  • slipgateslipgate Posts: 2,301 ✭✭


    << <i>No insurance coverage if you leave the coins in the car unattended. If I'm robbed, I'm covered.

    Garrow >>



    If the coins are covered, they are covered. Leaving them unattended has no bearing on whether a claim will be paid.
    My Registry Sets! PCGS Registry
  • TomBTomB Posts: 21,443 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I don't know what the collector had in the pickup that was worth $50k, meaning it might have been 20 double eagles or 100 pounds of wheat cents and bulk silver, but I cannot imagine leaving inventory or a collection unattended in your vehicle. Those who wonder about insurance fraud may not realize that there is an unattended vehicle clause in virtually all policies that specifically excludes payment upon loss of material that is left in the vehicle if the owner is not present.
    Thomas Bush Numismatics & Numismatic Photography

    In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson

    image
  • slipgateslipgate Posts: 2,301 ✭✭


    << <i>I don't know what the collector had in the pickup that was worth $50k, meaning it might have been 20 double eagles or 100 pounds of wheat cents and bulk silver, but I cannot imagine leaving inventory or a collection unattended in your vehicle. Those who wonder about insurance fraud may not realize that there is an unattended vehicle clause in virtually all policies that specifically excludes payment upon loss of material that is left in the vehicle if the owner is not present. >>



    That doesn't even make sense. So you are saying you have to be personally robbed by the theif to be covered?

    I did, in fact, have my vehicle stolen when I left it running in the driveway while I went back in to get something. I also heard this same line when I talked to people about the insurance claim. When I called the insurance company to report the loss, I told her exactly what happened and mentioned that I was being told that since I left it running with the keys in it that it might not be covered. She laughed and said that is a common, but wrong misconception. She said the most they would do is maybe give me a funny look but it would have no bearing on paying the loss both to the car and the contents. I was fully insured and the car was stolen on Christmas eve just after being loaded up with presents. The car had 1000 miles and was less than a month old (a 2000 300m). It was recovered 2 weeks later undamaged (full of beer) but with an additional 1000 miles and all of the contents stolen which were never recovered. I did not file a claim since the total value of what was stolen was just about my deductible of $500.
    My Registry Sets! PCGS Registry
  • crazyhounddogcrazyhounddog Posts: 13,993 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I hate a thief. Low life scum bags...
    The bitterness of "Poor Quality" is remembered long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.
  • BroadstruckBroadstruck Posts: 30,497 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Those bags should have been on his person at all times and he should have changed his own tire.
    To Err Is Human.... To Collect Err's Is Just Too Much Darn Tootin Fun!
  • TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 44,440 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Somewhere there's a deal taking place. The victim was probably targeted long before he left the show.
    The shoulda , woulda, coulda banter is just that. Facts are: we have another victim in numismatics.
  • TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 44,440 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Nobody is safe in Philly
    I read this story is on the same page. Makes ya wonder what's in the water out there.

  • Slipgate,

    My coin insurance coverage is very clear that they do not cover unattended coins left in a car. It makes perfect sense. There is a big difference between burglary and robbery. I never leave my inventory alone unattended.

    Garrow
  • pontiacinfpontiacinf Posts: 8,915 ✭✭


    << <i>I don't know what the collector had in the pickup that was worth $50k, meaning it might have been 20 double eagles or 100 pounds of wheat cents and bulk silver, but I cannot imagine leaving inventory or a collection unattended in your vehicle. Those who wonder about insurance fraud may not realize that there is an unattended vehicle clause in virtually all policies that specifically excludes payment upon loss of material that is left in the vehicle if the owner is not present. >>



    That was the first thought that popped into my mind Tom. I do not know who this person is,
    but so much has happened over the years that even I would not ever consider running around
    with that kind of $$$ riding shotgun without one and one arm chained to the bag holding it.

    image

    Go BIG or GO HOME. ©Bill
  • This content has been removed.
  • BAJJERFANBAJJERFAN Posts: 31,108 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Is he out of his friggin mind stopping in Northeast Phila. for any reason?? >>



    That bad huh?
    theknowitalltroll;
  • keetskeets Posts: 25,351 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Is he out of his friggin mind stopping in Northeast Phila. for any reason?? >>

    Good point! He is lucky to be alive.


    he didn't have a choice, he had a FLAT TIRE!!
  • TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 44,440 ✭✭✭✭✭
    nevermind
  • BAJJERFANBAJJERFAN Posts: 31,108 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Somewhere there's a deal taking place. The victim was probably targeted long before he left the show.
    The shoulda , woulda, coulda banter is just that. Facts are: we have another victim in numismatics. >>



    From the news report he was going to a show and not coming back from one.
    theknowitalltroll;
  • BAJJERFANBAJJERFAN Posts: 31,108 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Nobody is safe in Philly
    I read this story is on the same page. Makes ya wonder what's in the water out there. >>



    Crooktosporidium?
    theknowitalltroll;
  • TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 44,440 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>Somewhere there's a deal taking place. The victim was probably targeted long before he left for the show.
    The shoulda , woulda, coulda banter is just that. Facts are: we have another victim in numismatics. >>



    From the news report he was going to a show and not coming back from one. >>



    Thanks, I fixed it. as a matter of record.
  • Duh!
  • Interesting...

    Immediatley I felt bad for the gentleman, and know that if it was a legit theft, it is an awful feeling...not knowing if your were stalked to begin with, etc. And yes, this seems to be happening too often...

    I know I have commented on these thefts many times, and my thoughts are this (once again):
    MOST OF YOU, dealers or not, are walking to and from these coin shows, with luggage, breifcase (or two), and with NOOOO security or even a friend with you. Many shows I have attended, and it is so many of the same faces, and I know who might have a "more valuable" breifcase vs. others... I just think with so many "have nots", or "I want something for free" patrons in the world, why you think this is a great idea... I guess I don't know how else you would travel with your goods, but it seems like grabbing a breifcase near these shows is better than robbing a bank...

    I guess I just have to say, trust NO ONE, and be careful and mindful and watchful...

    Regarding an insurance claim, is it not true you have to have receipts and proof of value for said item(s) ON YOUR POLICY(S) to even claim?
    An insurance company isn't going to just "believe" the value of your loss without backing of the actual value... So how can anyone "fraudulently" set up a heist, and profit from it??? (Unless they somehow pulled the wool over the eyes of the insurance company with inflated values of the items on the policy(s)...).

    The Accumulator - Dark Lloyd of the Sith

    image
  • illini420illini420 Posts: 11,466 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>
    Regarding an insurance claim, is it not true you have to have receipts and proof of value for said item(s) ON YOUR POLICY(S) to even claim?
    An insurance company isn't going to just "believe" the value of your loss without backing of the actual value... So how can anyone "fraudulently" set up a heist, and profit from it??? (Unless they somehow pulled the wool over the eyes of the insurance company with inflated values of the items on the policy(s)...). >>



    Or unless they only show the receipts of their purchases and just don't show them the receipts of the items recently sold...
  • RYKRYK Posts: 35,797 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Is he out of his friggin mind stopping in Northeast Phila. for any reason?? >>

    Good point! He is lucky to be alive.


    he didn't have a choice, he had a FLAT TIRE!! >>


    He should have checked the tires before he got into the car. Better yet, he should have run-flat tires to avoid having to stop for tire problems.

    Actually, I was not serious when I made my remark above but could not resist.

    My first thought was that someone set him up.
  • droopyddroopyd Posts: 5,381 ✭✭✭


    << <i>A criminal will do $1000 damage to a car to steal a $20 pair of sunglasses. >>



    We had someone do $2000 damage to our car, they tried to break in, the alarm went off, so they raked the entire side of the car and the hood and the trunk lid with some sharp piece of metal.
    Me at the Springfield coin show:
    image
    60 years into this hobby and I'm still working on my Lincoln set!
  • RaufusRaufus Posts: 6,817 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I will not judge but on my initial read, it does sound like the valuables were sitting in plain sight in the cab of the truck... >>



    EXACTLY! I don't leave my car for a moment w/o being sure that anything that would remotely attract a criminal is totally out if sight in the trunk. This is a no-brainer.
    Land of the Free because of the Brave!
  • This content has been removed.
  • TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 44,440 ✭✭✭✭✭
    There would be surveillance cameras if big brother was watchin'.
  • pennyanniepennyannie Posts: 3,929 ✭✭✭
    If you do not watch your stuff someone else will.
    Mark
    NGC registry V-Nickel proof #6!!!!
    working on proof shield nickels # 8 with a bullet!!!!

    RIP "BEAR"

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