Inspired by our discussion of noteworthy thefts of numismatic items, John Regitkoof Toronto, Canada writes:

YMCA BREAK-IN YIELDS SILVER DOLLAR COLLECTION

The Central Coin Club was founded in 1962, meeting weekly atthe Central YMCA in downtown Toronto (as program director, Iplanned weekly programs, and you monthly planners think youhave it difficult!).

As the club's liaison to the YMCA, I was asked to set up adisplay on coin collecting for a two-day showing of all theactivities that take place at the "Y."

I set up a two-case display of a set of Canadian silver dollars.The exhibits were not manned, so meeting details wereincorporated into the display.

While the displays were in the lobby, security was alwayspresent. Displays of some value, including my two cases, werelocked up Saturday evening in the office on the second floor andbrought out again on Sunday morning.

When the office was unlocked on Sunday morning, the display cases had been pried open and thecontents removed. The police were called, whodetermined that someone managed to get to theledge on the second floor, climbed into the officeby breaking the lock on the window, ripping out thehinges of the display cases and removing thecoins. It was assumed they made their getawaythe same way since the office door was still locked.

No cameras were present to capture the comingsand goings in the building or individual offices inthe 1960s. The Toronto Police CSI team dustedthe window, lock and the display cases forfingerprints. They asked for my fingerprints so asto eliminate them as a suspect.

As luck...or stupidity...would have it, a teenagerbought some pop and candy at a local variety storea few blocks away, paying with silver dollars. The clerk thought it was unusual for a young kid tospend silver dollars and called the police who put two and two together.

The police apprehended the teenager. The coins the clerk turned over to them, as well as aquantity of the others which the teenager still had on him, were returned to the YMCA who, in turn,gave them to me.

I never found out the outcome of the charges against the young offender. However, since I wasnever called to testify, I assume the thief enjoyed the candy and pop he had purchased beforebeing apprehended without penalty or restitution.

After submitting a statement of claim to the YMCA's insurance company, I received a chequewhich, to my best recollection, amounted to something just over $500, due to the condition of thecoins and the fact insurance covered their full retail value. Since this took place around 1965, thatwould be over $3,700 in today's purchasing power.

Cale B. Jarvis, the resident editor of Canada Coin News (which was founded by Chet Krause,publisher of Numismatic News of Iola, Wisconsin in 1963), did consulting work. He evaluatedclaims for insurance companies in cases of theft, fire, arson, flood, etc., of property andcollectibles, including coins. He received my inventory of loss and my claim for replacement valuefrom the insurance company and agreed with my evaluation. I found this out years later when heno longer represented insurance companies' interests. He stumbled upon his file copy years laterand gave it to me.

No 1948 silver dollar was returned, for a very good reason. The exhibit was directed towardsmembers of the YMCA, not the numismatic community. Although reverses with the dates wereshown for the most part. I also showed the obverses of George V, George VI and QE-II. Creativityof the layout enabled me to show the obverse of the 1948 dollar...except it was another year ofGeorge VI.

The 1948 silver dollar I owned I bought for $15 fromsomeone that I met during my high school days when Iworked as a cashier at a variety store. He owned sevenof them. Fortunately for him, it is a Jewish custom toobtain coins with the year a son is born and hand themout to relatives and close friends. The seven leftovers,dated 1948, were given to the birthday boy by his father.

I sold it one year later for the going price of $150. If I hadincluded it in the display and did not replace it because Ihad moved on to errors and primitive forms of money, Iwould probably have claimed $50 from the insurancecompany for its then retail value and would have lost outon a $100 profit.

Mind you, if I had held onto it, today I could get thousands for it!

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
GREAT NUMISMATIC THEFTS(https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n08a15.html)