[MSN] DAHLONEGA . Possible conspiracy to steal museum coins thwarted

[Museum Security Network Mailing list]

Possible conspiracy to steal museum coins thwarted
By Ashley Cox Staff

  DAHLONEGA - The Lumpkin County Sheriff's Office has thwarted a possible
conspiracy to steal coins from the Dahlonega Gold Museum. 

On Christmas Eve, an anonymous caller alerted the museum of the potential
conspiracy. 

Officials contacted one of the alleged co-conspirators, who had recently
visited the museum and researched the value of the coins. 

"We put them on notice that we knew about the conspiracy and none of the
coins would be stolen," Lumpkin County Sheriff Mark McClure said. And, "We
would be definitely looking to charge individuals if that did occur."

The man, who is from out of state, denied having any involvement in the
plot.

McClure said residential burglaries of coins and coin collections are fairly
common in the community, but to steal coins of such value as the ones in the
museum is a "rarity."

"We take these treasures of our county very seriously because they are very
valuable," McClure said. "But they're also of great historical significance
to the citizens of Lumpkin County."

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
were both contacted. However, no charges were filed by the sheriff's office
since there is no evidence that any part of the conspiracy took place in
Georgia.

Information about the conspiracy was also given to the Numismatic Crime
Information Center, a database for worldwide investigations related to coin
and artifact thefts.

In January 2007 about four million dollars worth of coins, some of which
were Dahlonega Mint coins, were stolen from coin dealers in Florida but
there is no known link between that theft and the museum conspiracy.