Dalton, GA - Vehicle Burglary, Collectors Targeted By Theives

Good point. Two of my dealer friends got hit that way, over twenty years ago. One dealer and his wife actually had their vehicle in sight from the restaurant as the crooks entered from the rear. Two other dealers, traveling together, stopped at a McD's for maybe ten minutes or so, making a pit stop and getting take-out. Their vehicle, holding both their inventories, was gone.

There are GPS jammers you can buy.

Though I'd think you would want GPS on your vehicle in case the whole thing was stolen. Your smart phone has GPS technology, of course, and many cars have OnStar and such, so there are always many people that know where your car is at all times (whether they care or not).

But more than likely these kinds of crimes are low tech and line-of-sight, and don't involve GPS.

Best bet is to never leave your vehicle until the goods are back in protection. Stop for gas but don't leave the car. Pack food ahead of time. Bring a partner/buddy if it's a long ride where bathroom breaks are needed. We hear too many times that the rightful owners were robbed while having dinner after leaving a show. Never, never leave your merchandise unattended.

If you do shows often, perhaps invest in a lock box welded to the frame of your car, kind of like a rolling safe. Dash cams are also a good idea.

Make it difficult and they'll likely move on to the next, easier target. Crooks will always pick the low-hanging fruit, unless you have something they REALLY want.

I suspect it'd be easier to switch vehicles, rent-a-car, enroute!

You're sick of it? I've been reading those reports for almost 50 years now, and you can find similar reports going back a lot further in old numismatic periodicals. I can possibly feel sorry for a new collector that falls for something like this, but I no longer feel much sympathy for dealers that get robbed like this. They KNOW this happens all the time, yet still do the same thing.

While I agree that we can all take measures to lower the risk of being a victim of crime, I refuse to blame the victim. Many of the coin dealers I know are older guys who do but a handful of shows a year. These guys typically have no insurance, the cost of which is often prohibitive. Then too, insurance companies will rarely cover the actual loss. Also, consider that the great majority of coin dealers really enjoy what they're doing. Can't say I know one who would kill his wife to collect on her insurance policy, much less forfeit his inventory, his livelihood.

IMHO, pointing fingers at coin dealers, insinuating that victims may be crooks, themselves, is a grossly unfair stance to take. Who among us has not left his garage door open at some time or another?

Another bad scenario, a quite common one for collectors of all kinds, is to be ripped off by family members. I saw this scenario constantly repeated over the years; this, given my work in criminal justice. Following the similar logic of being prepared to be victimized, collectors and dealers should take just what steps to safeguard their holdings from family? I pose this question tongue-in-cheek, mind you.

IMHO, it's simply wrong to blame victims or even point a finger in their direction. Sure, some common sense precautions, deterrents can be taken under different circumstances. Regardless, just what good is done by blaming any victim, suggesting he/she's complicit? Who among us is incapable of being victimized at some time or another?

Many years ago now, there was a pair of dealers I often bought coins from. Each had a shop and carried often visible sidearms. They traveled to the big shows in tandem, one watching the other's back. Good tactic I thought, given that they each had extensive inventory. Long story, short, they were returning home from a major show, ducked into a McD's for a quick pit stop (had aged bladders), came right out, and their vehicle was gone. The FBI did later recovered some of their material.

Of course, some would blame "them" it seems, for not staying with the vehicle. Now, the $64,000 question for those who would point the finger .... Just which of the two fellas is more culpable? Ultimately, I'll vote, neither. I see no logic in blaming either or both. In today's world, simply pulling up to a gas pump can be a life altering decision. Sadly, stuff happens!

Not just with coin or stamp collectors. A friend purchased new range and fridge from one brand name store. Items were strapped in the back of her pickup. She went to a box box depot to pick up a couple other things. Security video (grainy and useless) showed another pickup pull behind her truck, two guys get out, slash the strapping. Slide the range into their pickup and lost control of the fridge which toppled to the ground. In full afternoon daylight. They drove off as if nothing had happened with a new range.

It appears that virtually every victim is culpable then, eh Conder? You'd make a good lawyer for the defense, methinks.

The victim was scantily clad, walking on an unlit street in a bad part of town, etc., so naturally she invited the rape, the mugging. The guy's garage door was left open, his lawn mower was unattended, the UPS guy left the package on his porch, so it's his fault that stuff was taken. They should have known the guy next door was a sex offender ... listed on the registry, he is. It's the parents' fault they didn't tell the kid to avoid the neighbor. The coin dealer should have used the drive-thru ... Where does it end?

How can anyone be expected to cover all the bases, be on the defensive, 24/7. Sure, there are steps we can take to be lower the possibility of being victimized. However, failing to do something surely doesn't make a victim culpable in a crime.