Viewers who are familiar with the History Channel will surely know the popular and witty show, Pawn Stars, which features Las Vegas store, Gold and Silver Pawn Shop. It was reported that a stolen coin collection worth about $50,000 dollars from Las Vegas native, David Walters, was sold to the famous pawn shop and then the shop melted down the gold coins before Walters could claim them back. The twist to the story? The person who stole Walters’ collection was his niece, Jennifer Beckman.
8 News Now, a Las Vegas news station, stated that Beckman stole Walters’ coin collection and sold them in three different installments to the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, cashing in a total of $12,375 dollars.
Unfortunately for Walters, the owner of the coins, the pawn shop had already melted down the gold before he or the police could alert the shop about the theft. The news report also stated that since pawn shops have such bad reputations, strict regulations and laws are put into place for items so owners have time to pick them back up or cops can call in if they suspect an item has been stolen, however, coins are one of the exceptions since they are not considered actual jewelry.
ABC News explained that among some of the valuable coins were a 1903 $20 gold piece and 1 oz. American Buffalo gold pieces.
The famous Gold and Silver Pawn Shop didn’t break any law or regulation and so sadly Walters will not be seeing his coin collection any time soon.
Image: Wikimedia Commons