Theft? Big Problem?

As an hobby I have more then 30 years training in close up magic
I saw an expert at work in London I think it was on a weekly market
for second hand goods in Petticoat lane

They had three people on the look out for police and used a collapsible umbrella as base
The game was find the ace amongst the three cards
Of course there was the shill bidder winning all the time

A few yards further there was the shell game
If you found the pee under the shell your were the winner
of course none of the shells had any pea under them
The pea was put under the shell with the least bids on them

The sad truth is very simple ; if you can stand the psychological pain of going to prison some scams will pay you a lot more then honest work

Speaking from experience at smaller venues it happens there too......be wary of anyone who sets something on your table.......especially if it is large enough to cover any items exposed on the table.......we had a couple do this at one of our tables about a year or so ago.......they use diversion by splitting the team apart and will usually try to time their exploit while there are several cutomers there....by walking up to the table and browsing they lay a small bag or other item on the table on top of the items they wish to steal........then all they do is scoot the item into a shopping bag or handbag and move on....leaving the bag to conceal the theft until they have had time to dissapear into the crowd........hope this helps

When I was doing some research into what to expect for my first coin show, I stumbled across a dealer's blog and he was addressing the issue of coin theft at shows.

He talked about the type of sting you just mentioned, where one or more people keep the dealer busy while another person "stops by" with a question or even to make a small purchase. While the dealer is busy, his new "friends" start helping themsevles to his coins.

This dealer also told a horror story about the actual security guards at the coin show doing a large portion of the stealing too.

I've only been to one show, and I can see just how easy it would be for somebody to pick the place clean if they knew what they were doing. I went with my son and every table we stopped at, many of the dealers would go out of their way to talk to my son (rightfully so, keep the hobby alive..), but while talking to him, they had books and books of coins out on the table, just laying there waiting for someone to grab a coin or two.

One dealer handed me a book and told me to look through it to find some nice coins. Granted, they weren't million dollar coins, but some of them were $100+ dollar coins and while I was looking, he spent ten minutes talking to another dealer, with his back turned to me, paying no attention to me at all. In fact, I had to walk around to him when I was ready to pay.

According to the blog I read, the biggest coin theives are some of the other dealers at the show! This dealer I read said he doesn't leave his stuff unlocked, even when he's setting up! He said he lost (see had stolen) some 1000 dollar coin before a show because he was chatting with one dealer and, according to him, another dealer asked to see the coin and then later claimed he put it back, but the coin was gone. His only choices were to call his fellow dealer a liar, or just chalk it up to experience and move on.

If it were me, I would chalk it up to me beating the stuff out of the guy, but that's why I'm not in retail

If I can find the link again, I'll post it so everyone can read it. Aside from the dealer aspect of going to a show, this guy had some really insightful stuff about us civilians going to these shows.

Most of it was common sense, but also the type of stuff that's easy to forget. Never discuss coins, collecting, or the show while walking to the show or returning to your car. Never flash coins outside the venue. Never conduct business outside the venue with someone "claiming" to be a dealer, regardless of how good their story is about why they left 10,000 bucks in coins in their room at the Hilton.

Most of that stuff is obvious, but it's also so easy to forget, especially when we're lulled into a flase sense of security.

Anyway, I'll try to find it and post it.

We have a bloke right here in my town in South Florida that not only do the other dealers know he is a thief, the police do, just have not been able to catch him yet.
He is a "part time dealer" he attends shows and all of a sudden coins of major value - over $1000 US disappear.

No one has been able to catch him - YET- but he is also known to fly to Canada and it is amazing what he sells at the shows there -(aka the missing coins).

Problem is he has a great knowledge of coins and he does not take anything that has bee slabbed.
since coins do not have serial numbers it has been very difficult to "prove" what he is doing-
But give it time we will get him.

Ah....A real sad person distruptin peoples whole lives worth of collection, I'm sorry to say but corruptions should never be introduced to coins!
Its just sad!

Coin shows are few and far between in my area of the United States.

As far as my personal collection is concerned -- to start with, it's not that valuable. However, the few coins I have that do have some value -- my two double eagles for example -- are kept in a safety deposit box. It's a shame that I have to go to the bank to look at them, but that's what it's come to these days. Nothing seems safe, or sacred anymore.