Annandale Coin Theft Still Unsolved

Fairfax County police have not yet caught the person who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of rare coins from an elderly couple in Annandale, officials told Patch this morning.

In May, Fairfax County police officials reported that after attending an antique coin show in Charlottesville in mid-April an elderly couple returned home to the Annandale area only to have their collection stolen right out of the car in their own driveway, police said Tuesday. Detectives believe the victims were targeted and that the suspect may have followed them home from the coin show. The value of the stolen coins was estimated at $300,00 - $500,000.

The Washington Post reported this morning that targeted coin collection thefts seem to be on the upswing. The high prices of silver and gold, and the difficulty in tracking the thefts, may be among the reasons.

“Coin thieves are often part of organized rings, some from Colombia and others with ties to the Russian mafia, that orchestrate sophisticated, lightning-quick and sometimes ruthlessly violent heists, according to the Numismatic Crime Information Center, a nonprofit organization that tracks coin thefts,” the Washington Post reported.

Other coin theft cases of note this year from across the United States:

Oregon Burglars Drop Rare Coin Collection Into Counting Machine

Thieves Steal $200,000 Worth of Rare Coins in Connecticut Home Invasion