Philadelphia Mint Guard Arrested for stealing Missing Edge Lettered Dollars!

[coinman1794]

This might explain the vast numbers of these flooding the market:

 

..

US Mint officer admits taking $2.4M worth of coins

AP – 1 hr 52 mins ago...

 

 

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — A former police officer for the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia has admitted to stealing $2.4 million worth of "error" coins and selling them to a coin distributor in California.

 

U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman in New Jersey said 64-year-old William Gray pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges of theft of government property and tax evasion.

 

Gray, of North Wildwood, N.J., had worked at the U.S. Mint since 1996. In a federal court in Camden, N.J., he admitted taking $1 presidential coins that were missing edge lettering, knowing they would be considered more valuable to coin collectors because they were considered "mint errors." He mailed them from New Jersey.

 

He was freed on $50,000 bail. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 20.

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[19Lyds]

This story generates more questions than it answers.

 

Who was the distributor?

 

Did the security guard deceive the "coin distributor" by claiming he'd found them? Error coin distributor's DO have contacts at banks and rolling facilities for acquiring error coins.

 

Will folks that purchased these either through private transactions or public auctions have to return them to the US Mint for destruction?

 

I'm assuming, of course, that the trail for these coins doesn't stop with the arrest.

[dimefreak]

Regardless if he was fooled or if he knew. Wont the feds take all the coins?

[Buffalo Head]

I'm amazed he could get them out of the mint without someone detecting them. Hmmmmm, I thought they had to walk out through a metal detector or something of the sort.....It sure would be nice to know who the distributer in Calif. is.....Joe

[physics-fan3.14]

I'm amazed he could get them out of the mint without someone detecting them. Hmmmmm, I thought they had to walk out through a metal detector or something of the sort.....It sure would be nice to know who the distributer in Calif. is.....Joe

 

The guards are probably the ones that monitor the detectors. I would think it would be quite easy for a guard to steal from the mint.

 

Still, very interesting post.

 

Also, long time, no see, Doug. Hope you are back for a while!

[WoodenJefferson]

[J.A. Collection]

[thebeav]

 

That is funny !

[noow]

+1

[mrearlygold]

Any speculation as to who the distributor might be? I asked the same question somewhere else and it disappeared. I don't know why