With numismatic crime on the rise in Canada and the United States, officials south of the border have teamed up to develop better security protocols plus other guidance and resources for show organizers and dealers.
At last August’s World’s Fair of Money in Rosemont, Ill., thieves stole a display case filled with Rolex watches and coins worth an estimated $500,000 US (about $655,000 Cdn.). During the setup day for the show organized by the American Numismatic Association (ANA), several people without badges stole a dealer’s display case.
“Thieves look for targets of opportunity, where the risk is low, and the potential for gains is high,” said ANA Governor Charles Morgan, who also chairs the association’s security committee. “Sadly, our ANA conventions are not immune from this threat. Heading into the National Money Show (in March), know that the board is committed to improving and evolving our security procedures so that thieves begin to realize that it’s too much trouble to target ANA shows and its members.”
Within days of the August theft, the ANA convened a task force to develop security protocols for coin shows, which, along with dealer stores, have been targeted by thieves and other criminals since reopening following the pandemic shutdown. The ANA’s board of governors worked with law enforcement and security specialists to “conduct a thorough evaluation of the association’s security protocols and take steps to address the emerging threats to the numismatic community’s property and physical safety,” President Ralph Ross said last fall.
Since then, the committee has worked to provide updated guidelines and resources leading up to this year’s ANA conventions, the first of which – the Phoenix National Money Show – took place in March.
The committee, which includes Doug Davis, the founder of the Numismatic Crime Information Center, also created a list of 15 security tips for protecting coin dealers’ assets during a show. To view the tip sheet, visit bit.ly/show-safety-tips.
Beginning with the National Money Show this March, the ANA will increase its security presence and video surveillance at all of its conventions. ANA officials are also working with Davis to produce a video on show security to show dealers before shows.
“It’s imperative that collectors, dealers and volunteers stay alert and look out for one another,” said ANA Executive Director Kim Kiick. “If you see something, say something.”
Earlier in the year, in January, a dealer at the New York International Numismatic Convention (NYINC) lost $100,000 US in inventory during a theft, the details of which have been disputed by the show chair.
World Numismatics, co-owned by Kent Ponterio, Max Keech, Patrick Richey and Cory Frampton, had a booth at the show. They claim at some point during the night after the show’s setup day, a man removed the chairs the dealer used to secure their showcase and stole about $100,000 US in coins, which the thief placed in a rolling bag before leaving the bourse.
“I guess he felt it was in a hotel so it was secure,” an anonymous police source told the New York Post. “Obviously, someone took it anyway.”
NYINC chair Paul Russell disputed the dealers’ timeline and claimed the man stole the coins while the convention was still open to the public.
“He left a little bit early,” Russell told the New York Post. “We were still open for business. We had the general public on the convention grounds.”
This January, two Southern Ontario dealers fell victim to separate armed robberies. One of them, London Gold Buyer owner Daniel Loewith, was shot and remained in hospital several weeks later (“Ontario dealer shot, in coma after robbery,” CCN Vol. 60 #23, Feb. 14, 2023).