Gold and Silver • thieves target coin collections

Driven by gold and silver prices, thieves target coin collections

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As Julian Leidman packed up more than $4 million in rare coins after a Connecticut show, the thieves probably already had the prominent collector under surveillance and had laid plans for one of the biggest coin heists in U.S. history.

Leidman eased his minivan onto Interstate 95 south toward his Maryland home and the thieves probably followed, waiting and watching for dozens of miles. Then they saw their opening.
When Leidman stopped for dinner at Tiffany’s restaurant in Pine Brook, N.J., he took a table near a window so he could keep an eye on his vehicle. The thieves sneaked around the side he couldn’t see, smashed a window and took at least five cases.

Most of Leidman’s inventory was gone, more than 2,000 vintage coins and banknotes including one of the coin world’s major prizes — a 1921 Saint-Gaudens $20 gold piece worth as much as a modest home in the suburbs.

Thefts of rare coins have spiked in recent years, experts say, crimes linked to the run-up in gold and silver prices. Coin thieves are often part of organized rings, some from Colombia and others with ties to the Russian mafia, that orchestrate sophisticated, lightning-quick and sometimes ruthlessly violent heists, according to the Numismatic Crime Information Center, a nonprofit organization that tracks coin thefts.

Fairfax County police think thieves probably followed a dealer to his Annandale home after a show in April and snatched coins and banknotes worth as much as $500,000 when the dealer left his car for about 10 minutes. In 2011, a mother and son from Texas were convicted of being part of a scheme to steal $152,000 in coins from a New Market, Va., collector.

“Why rob a bank with cameras, witnesses, and there’s a good chance your picture will end up on the evening news?” said Steve Ellsworth, president of the Virginia Numismatic Society and a coin security expert. “Coin thefts often don’t have witnesses, and criminals can make off with far more money.”

The October 2009 scheme targeting Leidman, which has resulted in a case that is nearing its conclusion in federal court in New York, opens a window on the world of thefts that sometimes seems pulled from a Hollywood script.

Leidman, 65, has been collecting since age 11. His Silver Spring store, Bonanza Coins, is overflowing with boxes, buckets and glass cases full of coins. Leidman is a major player in the coin world, and the illustration of the $20 1907 Indian Head double eagle piece on one wall is a reminder.

Leidman bought the coin — there is only one — for $500,000 in 1979, making it the world’s most expensive coin at the time. He hoped to turn a profit on it, but the market soured and he unloaded it two years later at a loss. It is now worth an estimated $15 million.

Leidman jokes about his bad timing but grows serious when he talks about the theft. He spent four decades building his business, but in the space of a Sunday evening dinner it appeared to be falling apart. His insurance company did not cover the cost of the stolen coins, Leidman said. Some of the coins were his, while others he was selling on commission for other collectors.

Statistics: Posted by DIGGER DAN — Tue Jun 12, 2012 6:22 am