http://www.wftv.com/news/6280385/detail.htmlORLANDO, Fla. -- Thieves stole $450,000 worth of rare coins after trailing collectors from a convention, breaking into their cars while they ate dinner and robbing one at gunpoint more than 100 miles away.
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"We haven't seen anything of this scale or this violent in years,"
Coin World editor Beth Deisher said of the thefts and robbery linked to the Jan. 5-7 gathering at the Orange County Convention Center.
The biggest haul happened two hours from Orlando after the coin show closed, when at least three men with a shotgun followed a dealer to Florida's west coast.
William Dominick had stopped at a Waffle House in Bradenton, where armed robbers smashed out the windows of his silver Mercedes sedan while he sat in the driver's seat, according to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.
Popping open the trunk, the robbers grabbed two steel cases plus a briefcase and ran toward a black luxury car with tinted windows. An intervening homeless man hit one of the robbers, who dropped and left behind the largest case, reports show.
"It had $700,000 to $800,000 inside," Dominick said Thursday of the recovered case. The contents included an 1879 U.S. gold coin worth $150,000 and a $10,000 bill valued at $75,000, he said.
"The blessing is that that homeless guy was there," said Dominick, who gave the man a $100 bill.
The missing briefcase and the second steel case, which weighed about 30 pounds, held $250,000 in merchandise, Dominick said.
"I've offered a $100,000 reward," said the dealer, who runs Westwood Rare Coin Gallery in Naples and a New York suburb. "I'll do whatever's needed to get these guys in jail."
The thieves also struck while three collectors ate dinner Jan. 5 near the convention, Orange County sheriff's reports show. Dinner guest Daniel Bandish lost $35,000 in
Morgan silver dollars and $10,000 cash in the burglary. Dealer and collector Charles Hager lost $66,000 worth.
"Never in 40 years have I even left my valise in an unattended car before," Hager said. "I came out. The windows were broken, and you get that feeling when your heart drops into your stomach."
Like many dealers, Bandish said he was not insured. They say it can be hard to get insurance because inventory often turns over quickly.
"It could have been a lot worse. I sold $40,000 of platinum during the show. Thank God I took a check," he said. "They must have been following me around because I was making some purchases with cash."
Crime reports list nine victims in five cases. Dealers and
Coin World said there may be a 10th victim, a coin dealer from Branson, Mo.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed
Posted 01/20/2006 4:58 pm
