be on the lookout ..

[duggee27]

just heard on the radio..

valuable old coins go missing from sydney art gallery (i think) worth 1 million dollars ..
(story to be confirmed)

[Nevol]

Link: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/rare-coin-theft-at-nsw-state-library/story-fn3dxiwe-1227018076874?nk=ff8a5aa171e678ec8e88ce47aacd14bb

[Unicorn]

The article from The Australian website.

Copied from the link Oasis put on CCF.

RARE coins worth up to a million dollars have been stolen in a sophisticated heist from the State Library of NSW.

THE robbery is believed to have happened late on Wednesday afternoon but wasn't discovered until the following morning.
 The coins were in a secure display case, on the upper level of the Mitchell Library building, NSW State Librarian and chief executive Alex Byrne told AAP on Friday.
 Police were called immediately and are investigating the incident, Mr Bryne said.
 The coins were part of a rare collection.
 "They were Australian coins and worth up to $1 million," Mr Byrne said.
 "The most interesting one in many ways is a holey dollar, dating from the time of Governor (Lachlan) Macquarie (1810-1821) and is an example of Australia's first currency," he said.
 "Historically, it's extraordinarily important" as the library typically holds the history of the state and the nation, Mr Byrne said.
 He said the coins were in an alarmed security case, which was very difficult to open, and monitored by CCTV.
 "It was a very violent break in - violence against the case.
 "And by the look of it, it was somebody who was experienced in doing that type of thing.
 "The environment was highly secure," he said.
 From the collection of 15 coins, 12 were stolen, he said.
 The library discovered the coins missing on Thursday morning just after the library opened.
 "It's very distressing for the staff and for everybody who cares about the collection," Mr Byrne said.
 "These items are kept in vaults in very high security and when we bring them out we are very conscious of that but it's part of our mandate to make them available to people. It's no good if they're sitting in vaults all the time."
 Mr Bryne said the robbery is the first of its type for the library
:laugh2: ...... Geez you're quick Nevol!

[Nevol]

More Info from the thread on CCF:

http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/album/albumView.aspx?acmsID=431559&itemID=825709

If these are images of the actual coins stolen, there might not be much of a market for them.

Link has been updated.

[nealeffendi]

Nancy,I get a 404 error to that link.
I know the Mitchell Library well. This isn't their first coin robbery as much of their collection was pilfered 30-40 years ago by the likes of David Gee. Much of what was stolen then was irreplaceable and as a researcher it means for some coins there is no direct link via provenance to early Commonwealth mintages.  
Putting a million dollars of coins in a non secured display cabinet is STUPID.
Where is the CCTV footage, alarms, tamper proof everything etc to stop the thief?
Even if the coins cannot be sold on the open market there will still be someone who will want them and fondle in the privacy of their home. Another David Gee for example.

[Nevol]

Link above has been updated, but here it is again anyway.
http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/album/albumView.aspx?acmsID=431559&itemID=825709

He said the coins were in an alarmed security case, which was very difficult to open, and monitored by CCTV.

Almost makes one think it could be an inside job.

[nealeffendi]

Link above has been updated, but here it is again anyway.
http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/album/albumView.aspx?acmsID=431559&itemID=825709

He said the coins were in an alarmed security case, which was very difficult to open, and monitored by CCTV.

Almost makes one think it could be an inside job.

Nancy, I work in security and a good CCTV system would have alerted the guy monitoring the monitor that someone was near the case. I was in a monitoring office on Friday and that had 36 screens and the screens told the operator if any movement was detected. They also had frequent roving patrols to physically check things such as locks.
Good security costs money and the library obviously was cutting corners.

[ausjack]

it was belly :mocking: NO NO it wasn't him I'm just being naughty but I wanna be good :angel: