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 Replies: 31 / Views: 3,341 |
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Valued Member
United States
55 Posts |
I travel for business all over the country and when I do, I always try to hit the local coin and antique shops for some finds. While out of town last week, I was in a collectibles store in a mall. This was not a coin shop per se but a shop that sold coins along side comic books, Pokemon cards, hats, etc. You get the drift.
While I was perusing the coins, a teenagers came in with three BU Franklins that he said he found in his Dad's basement. He also had a crisp sliver certificate in a sleeve. The kid told the guy behind the counter that his Dad told him that he could sell them.
The owner offered him $6 each for the Franklins and nothing for the silver cert. The kid asked for $20 for everything. The owner huffed and acted as if he was giving up a kidney!
My question to the forum is: Would you have stepped in and offered more to the kid while in his store? Would you have talked to the kid afterward to explain that he could get more somewhere else?
Thanks! Edited by fasttalker27
05/23/2013 4:41 pm
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Moderator
 United States
23522 Posts |
I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole. The chances that the kid was telling the truth are slim and none, and Slim's left town.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2543 Posts |
I would have dialed 911 upon leaving the store, and told the police I just witnessed the pawning of stolen property. I would appreciate someone doing the same for me if I had a delinquent son stealing my coin and currency collection.
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Valued Member
Canada
306 Posts |
I wouldn't go as far as to call 911 on him. It is entirely possible (though unlikely) that he was telling the truth. I would have said he could get more though.
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Valued Member
 United States
55 Posts |
I actually caught up with him outside of the store and told him that he could have gotten more if he went to a different store and told him about what to expect. Hopefully a reputable dealer will educate him and try to get him in the hobby and not screw him out of his Dad's coins.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2543 Posts |
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I wouldn't go as far as to call 911 on him. It is entirely possible (though unlikely) that he was telling the truth. I would have said he could get more though. Seriously ? He " finds " 3 BU Franklins and a choice silver certificate, in a protective sleeve, in the basement. And Dad says " Oh yeah, I forgot I was a coin collector " " Hey son, why don't you take some of my collection down to the coin shop; no , better yet take it to the local thrift store instead " " Let me tell you what they are worth, but if they offer you one third of that, take it " Tell the police the situation and let them decide from there, and pat yourself on the back that you may have kept one of your fellow collectors from posting in the " numismatic crime " forum. Dad will get his coins back, junk man will be out $20 ( just desserts for knowingly accepting stolen items ) and junior will probably be caught with the little baggie he bought with the money from the (re-appropriated) coins. Edited by denco7
05/23/2013 7:18 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3167 Posts |
As a teen myself, I don't find some of these comments completely fair at all. Just because it was a teenager does not automatically make it stolen property. If it had been an person 20 years older, saying the same thing, but for their disabled or hospitalized parent, nobody would think otherwise. Considering the fact that we have no idea on the status of their family, no one should jump to the conclusion that the father was able to travel to the coin shop. We don't know all of the necessary information to come to any conclusions. I know that the only reason I became a coin collector was because of my Dad one day finding a tin of his old coins in the house. Nothing really valuable, but maybe the same as that teenager. Just a few coins he had acquired over time from friends and relatives, not with much interest. What got me selling on ebay, was when I took an interest to them, and he said to find out what they are worth. After doing a bit of internet research, I asked if I could try selling them online, as he had used ebay a few times before, but it was not a constant thing. Something similar may happened here. Quote:
junior will probably be caught with the little baggie he bought Just an FYI, but not every younger person out there is like that. Now, I am not saying that those coins weren't stolen, but I don't think that there is enough information available to us to be able to make an honest decision. Phew. There. Done  Edited by noahs-numismatics
05/23/2013 7:32 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
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Tell the police the situation and let them decide from there, and pat yourself on the back that you may have kept one of your fellow collectors from posting in the " numismatic crime " forum. What are the police supposed to do, they have to have evidence of a crime. They cant just hold anyone they see with a coin, the burden of proof is on them not the person with the items. If he did happen to take them from the basement theyre going to get sold and the police cant come in and force the transaction to be undone, they can only seize items they know are stolen. Not to mention they just may not care that much with no evidence presented to them. It is entirely possible though he was telling the truth. If theyre just sitting in the basement they probably arent that important to the dad. Maybe he upgraded, maybe he doesn't collect those things anymore, maybe he did stop collecting which does happen, maybe he was hoping that the kid would have went somewhere else and gotten interested in coins in the process. Theres a lot of things that could have been going on. At first glace it probably is more likely he took them, but even if that is the case theres really nothing that can be done about it unless the dad filed a police report. Most parents would rather deal with their kids on their own then have them have a criminal record over something like that anyway. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
965 Posts |
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Seriously ? He " finds " 3 BU Franklins and a choice silver certificate, in a protective sleeve, in the basement. And Dad says " Oh yeah, I forgot I was a coin collector " " Hey son, why don't you take some of my collection down to the coin shop; no , better yet take it to the local thrift store instead " " Let me tell you what they are worth, but if they offer you one third of that, take it "
Tell the police the situation and let them decide from there, and pat yourself on the back that you may have kept one of your fellow collectors from posting in the " numismatic crime " forum. Dad will get his coins back, junk man will be out $20 ( just desserts for knowingly accepting stolen items ) and junior will probably be caught with the little baggie he bought with the money from the (re-appropriated) coins. Honestly... that is beyond paranoid. If you were in a pawn shop, and someone called the cops on you for being suspicious, how would you feel? You have absolutely no idea if the kid was telling the truth or not. Even if the kid was lying, that doesn't necessarily mean he stole them. |
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Valued Member
United States
53 Posts |
While I might wonder in the back of my head if the items were stolen, I wouldn't intervene b/c there's just not enough evidence.
If the dealer was more or less robbing the kid offering 1/3 or 1/10 the value for the coins, then I'd actually intervene and tell the kid he could do better elsewhere.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4897 Posts |
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Would you have stepped in and offered more to the kid while in his store? Absolutely not! You cant do that in someones place of business. Quote:
Would you have talked to the kid afterward to explain that he could get more somewhere else?
Yes outside of the shop. Quote:
junk man will be out $20 ( just desserts for knowingly accepting stolen items ) While it is possible the coins were stolen nothing in the op's description of the situation seemed too fishy. Edited by amida17
05/23/2013 7:53 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
899 Posts |
1st off... this wasn't a coin shop as was obviously pointed out. I can't say the owner was ripping the kid off - he may have just been offering what he thought he could - and in return probably wasn't going to make a huge profit off them either.
Since it was 3 coins and a dollar - it isn't like the kid raided the safe and was rolling in cash - and if that is the extent of dads collection he probably didn't know what they were worth either, otherwise he would have suggested a place to cash them out.
Unless you talked to him after he left and if he still had the coins - intervening in a transaction is not something I'd do in a persons place of business. If you talked to him after he left and he still had the coins - no problem.
Edited by Doug58s
05/23/2013 8:08 pm
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Moderator
United States
23522 Posts |
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Now, I am not saying that those coins weren't stolen, but I don't think that there is enough information available to us to be able to make an honest decision. Which is precisely why I advised no action at all. Helping a kid who is in the process of stealing makes you an accessory; accusing him falsely does nobody any good. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2543 Posts |
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Honestly... that is beyond paranoid. Seriously you guys are a trusting lot. Obviously you must have all teenage angels at home. I have teenage boys at home. They have many many high school friends. My boys have no problem telling me everything and much of it is not pretty. I had a pewter fireplace lighter on my mantel, it was inscribed with my name as a thank-you from a business associate and meant a lot, one day it disappeared, I know exactly who took it and what he did with it. I had no proof, but would have loved to have had someone like me standing at the counter, where ever they pawned it, noticing how suspicious it was that some teenagers were selling a specially engraved pewter lighter. Every pawn shop is required to take a license and a signature. And smile, you are on candid camera. It is not profiling or paranoia, it is what Homeland Security and every law enforcement agency asks you to do. See something suspicious ? Drop a dime. And none of you can convincingly tell me that that whole transaction did not reek of suspicion. Geez, most people here are ready to crucify any seller on ebay over the slightest whiff of impropriety, yet this sounds like some kid wanting to get into coin flipping? Ok, so I am wrong, but I'm glad none of you are my neighbors, passing my home when I am on vacation, and turning the other way when you see an unmarked panel van in my driveway ........  Edited by denco7
05/23/2013 8:24 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
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It is not profiling or paranoia, it is what Homeland Security and every law enforcement agency asks you to do. See something suspicious ? Drop a dime. Thats really blowing the situation out of proportion. Again what are the police supposed to do? Without a police report they cant do anything. If the kid has half a brain when they bothered to question them hed ask if he was free to leave and when they said yes he would leave. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2543 Posts |
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Thats really blowing the situation out of proportion. The OP asked what would you do ? I saw something that, in my experience as a long time coin collector, looked very suspicious to me. I reported my suspicions to the police. They can then decide and I can go home and sleep soundly know that I did what I felt was the right thing to do. |
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Replies: 31 / Views: 3,341 |
Posted 05/23/2013 4:40 pm
