$20.00 gold coins at bank

Goes4ever

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what do you think about this story? I think it is a crock that the teller got fired, what policies were broke? I think he needs a good lawyer! Plus whoever refused these coins at walmart needs a head exam!!!!!!


Bank needs help finding owner of rare gold coins

March 26th, 2009 @ 10:02pm

By John Hollenhorst

SALT LAKE CITY -- Bank officials and police would like to know who the mysterious woman is who walked into a bank with a fistful of gold coins and exchanged them for only a couple hundred dollars. The coins, some more than a century old, are worth at least 50 times that much.
It happened last week at a St. George-area branch of Zions Bank. "A woman came into the branch and approached a teller saying that she had these coins," explained Rob Brough, executive vice president of Zions Bank.
She told the teller she had groceries waiting but the nearby Wal-Mart wouldn't accept her coins. The teller gave her face value, 20 bucks a piece, for 14 coins.



"At the bank, we don't deal with anything other than face value, and so she was just asking us to exchange the coins for dollars," Brough said.
But the coins are worth thousands, at least. Zions Bank showed us to see three of the 14, which date from 1875 to 1927.
All 14 are Double Eagles, $20 gold pieces. "There's some weight to it. There's about an ounce of gold here, so you get a little bit of sense that there's some value to these," Brough said.
Melted down at today's gold prices, each coin is worth, minimum, $900. Some very rare Double Eagles are worth tens of thousands, even millions. The 14 coins have not been appraised.
"It's just possible that this person didn't know how much value there was in these coins, but that's why we want to find the owner and make sure we get them into the right hands," Brough said.
The teller took the coins home, paying face value himself to the bank. He told us he didn't realize their value until he went to a coin shop.
The bank recovered the coins and fired the teller. They say he should have alerted management about the woman and her coins. "To insure that they really know what they're doing in terms of making that exchange," Brough explained.
A relative of another bank employee says the teller did show the coins to a manager, and his colleagues support him.
"They're upset and very afraid to say anything. It's talk among themselves more than anything, but what he did was not wrong. He didn't violate any policies. It's something they all do," Jannett Johnson said. The bank has surveillance video of the woman, but to protect her privacy they don't want to release it right now. She's in her late 20s or early 30s, with short dark hair, and about 5 feet 6 inches tall with a medium build.
If you think you know who it is, Zion's Bank has asked that you contact KSL.
 

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DAS7NY

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Jun 6, 2008
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DAS7NY said:
coinmojo said:
mrs.oroblanco said:
Sorry - it was a bag of quarters that a teller told you definitely had silver in it.
That's not a treasure hunt, the 2 tellers had already opened the bag and told you there was silver in it.
Don't get me wrong - I would have bought it too.
But ...........................................

B

And the teller only saw them because this bank needs to crack all the rolls open and put them in the bag. No one knew there was silver in those rolls till that point, who brought them in or when.

It's not like someone brought in $1000 silver quarters form the 60's and the tellers knowinly bought them just to pocket them for personal gain.

But you can buy them for personal gain? The teller can't. Doesn't make a difference to the bank. You did the same thing as the gold coin teller.
 

coinmojo

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Mrs Oroblanco

It is clear that these things happen every day. In all aspects of life.

Buying an old piece of furniture at a garage sale that turns out to be valued at $350k is different than a teller acquiring 14 gold DBL. Eagles at $20 a pop and how they were obtained.

I really don't know how many people are in the market for a $350 K end table. But Dbl Gold eagles in any form should fetch over $1000 ea. in lots of places.

Except maybe from those other criminals on TV and traveling the country offering to buy your jewelery gold and other valuables. for next to nothing. Like Cash for Gold and the sorts. You might get less.

I don't have to like it even though you feel it's OK .......... I don't........... My opinion......... & Yours.

Mojo
 

coinmojo

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DAS7NY said:
DAS7NY said:
coinmojo said:
mrs.oroblanco said:
Sorry - it was a bag of quarters that a teller told you definitely had silver in it.
That's not a treasure hunt, the 2 tellers had already opened the bag and told you there was silver in it.
Don't get me wrong - I would have bought it too.
But ...........................................

B

And the teller only saw them because this bank needs to crack all the rolls open and put them in the bag. No one knew there was silver in those rolls till that point, who brought them in or when.

It's not like someone brought in $1000 silver quarters form the 60's and the tellers knowinly bought them just to pocket them for personal gain.

But you can buy them for personal gain? The teller can't. Doesn't make a difference to the bank. You did the same thing as the gold coin teller.


Yes and my intention was to return them to rightfull owner but they forgot to tag them..... ??? So I guess I'll have to keep them.

Mojo
 

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Goes4ever

Goes4ever

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never realized my post would get so much attention.........lol
 

mrs.oroblanco

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The end table and the coins - exactly the same.

But you are right - a difference of opinions - but that's what makes the world go 'round ;D

B
 

LJ

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WOW.....What a topic here!!!! So many points and counterpoints. Some that make you go hmmmmmm................ I'll throw my two cents in.....just my opinion here......

First, I don't buy the WalMart story...I don't think it existed...meaning I think that was a story about the groceries this lady told to get in and out of this bank quick. I personally think these coins were stolen and this lady knew they were HOT so she wanted out of that bank as quick as possible. I know alot of Walmart's that have banks in them. Maybe this particular WalMart didn't have one or she may not have had an account at that particular bank if the WalMart story was true.....which I seriously doubt. She may have chosen a bank close to a WalMart to better sell her story to the bank teller???

If the WalMart story is in fact true....why didn't the WalMart employee accept them for payment? Those coins are legal tender although I am sure that employee never saw one live in his/her life.

This is what I would have done. If I were the teller knowing what I know today I would have told this lady that these coins were valued way more than the face value and that she could get thousands for them at a coin dealer. If she would have insisted on cashing them in at face value that would have thrown a RED flag up to me right away. At this point it would not have taken a rocket scientist to figure out these coins were stolen....clear as day. Come on....$700 face value versus in the ballpark of $14,000 minimum (depending on dates and condition)???? To hell with the groceries.....lol....if they even existed....again I doubt it!! These coins were burning in her hand they were so hot!!!! As a teller I would have been able to smell burning flesh from her hand!!!! At that point I would gone and got the bank manager....report this.

Again, knowing what I know today, that is what I would have done. After I figured out they were stolen and trust me...they were stolen at some point and she was not the rightful owner of these coins, no way, possibly her boyfriend/husband/ thug friend was involved (just speculation)....then I would have thought of the victim and how this lady came to possess these valuable coins. What if the victim was you?????

Now, lets suppose she acquired them through inheritance or something along those lines.....legally....and she really needed the cash, I would have possibly asked her if she wanted to sell them for more than face obviously but less than what a coin dealer would have given her.....barter with her a bit. I do this today with my local coin dealer. We have a pretty good relationship so we go back and forth some....he usually wins though....bit I often get it for less than what his price tag was...maybe not much but I feel like I won....lol. Anyway, I would have a clear conscious when the smoke cleared with this lady whether a deal was done or not.

Now, to the teller in this story.....I don't think anyone knows if he knew what the value of these coins were worth at the time of exchange but he obviously had an idea they were worth more than $50 each otherwise he would not have brought them to a 3rd party for appraisal or consultation. I am not saying the thought would not have crossed my mind to do the same thing he did, but after figuring out these coins were stolen.....to me that changes the whole game.

Again, in my opinion, since the teller obviously knew or had an inkling they were worth more than face value (as mentioned in above paragraph) he should have mentioned it to the lady. These were gold coins....not a silver 1964 Kennedy. From reading the other posts, the question begs.....where do you draw the line? I think each scenario is different, but in this one, I feel the teller was wrong. He should have went to the manager to get him/her involved.

I would love to know what her reaction would have been if the manager did get involved and questioned her about where she did in fact get these coins.....squirm city is my guess....lol. We'll never know. I think there will be more to this story in the near future.

Two wrongs don't make a right.....in this case the lady and the teller.....................

Someone is watching you.........Let your conscious be your guide!!!!!
 

trezurhunter

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I totally agree with LJ. The coins were hot. The manager should have been called in to handle the situation. The teller knew what they were worth. He did wrong.

The Trezurhunter.
 

mrs.oroblanco

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If I wanted to dump "hot" coins, I'm not sure a bank, with many cameras, would be my choice, though, I have paid for gas with silver dollars. (poorer times).

B
 

LJ

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mrs.oroblanco said:
If I wanted to dump "hot" coins, I'm not sure a bank, with many cameras, would be my choice, though,

Mrs. O....I am 100% sure about the choice of using a bank to dump HOT coins was not a good choice (agreed), but that was the 2nd bad decision made by this lady. The first was possessing them in the first place!! It does not surprise me though because this caliber/type of people normally do make poor choices in life.
 

jim4silver

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Apr 15, 2008
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Does anyone here have any proof the coins were stolen?

Everybody seems to assume that. Although there are alot of dishonest people in this world, there are probably more that are dimwitted. Especially about the value of coins. Maybe the lady was mentally retarded? Who knows.

Nothing in the story to suggest the coins were "hot". I have dealt with alot of criminals and although many might do stupid things, when it comes to stolen merchandise, etc., they normally are in the know, even when they are willing to pawn stolen things and get less than true value.

Jim
 

LJ

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Jim - I haven't seen a followup story on this subject yet so to my knowledge it hasn't been proven these coins were stolen. Although, from the outside looking in, I personally believe they were.....like I mentioned in my earlier post.....just my opinion.

Update -

Woman with gold coins identified then arrested
April 2nd, 2009 @ 3:28pm
By John Hollenhorst
ST. GEORGE -- Mystery solved! The owner of 14 gold coins has been identified, and the woman who took them to a bank near St. George has been arrested.

The mystery woman has been the subject of gossip and a police investigation ever since she exchanged the 14 coins for their face value of $20 a piece. Experts say each would have been worth around $900 just for the value of the gold they contain.

Now, 25-year-old Emily Cammack has been arrested and charged with stealing the coins from a Washington City man who didn't even realize they were missing.


She was living in the home of the victim and has admitted taking the coins from the home. Rob Brough, vice president of Zions Bank, said, "She had befriended the daughter of the victim over the Internet and then came from Missouri about a month ago and was living there in the home."

At some point she discovered the man's gold coins and took them to the bank, exchanging them for a total of $280.

Last Tuesday, she made a mistake that brought her to the attention of police. Brough said, "She showed up in the same branch as the one she exchanged the coins at. And so when she came in, our employees recognized her." The teller called security.

Cammack faces second-degree felony theft charges.

Brough said, "We've found the rightful owner of the coins, and we're anxious to get the coins back into his hands."

E-mail: [email protected]
 

47thelement

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When in doubt.... wait for LJ to have the answer

It's her world we just live in it. Thanks for the privledge
 

coinmojo

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Thanks LJ For the follow up

I stand. "CORRECT". But I think most of us believed they were stolen.

I also felt the owner never knew they were missing. Allthough I never mentioned that in my rants.

I could not possibly write all the things i'm thinking. LOL

Mojo
 

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