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Coin
Show Confidential(con't)
Safe Havens
Avoid removing your coins from the safety of the
bourse area. At nearly every major coin show, you'll see dealers and collectors
walking between the show site and a hotel or restaurant carrying their coins.
It is quite obvious to even the dumbest thieves that if they are patient, they
will have an opportunity to make a score. Individuals sometimes try to lure collectors
or dealers to a home, office or hotel room, away from the security of the convention,
to "show them a deal.' Don't do it.
If you must stay in the host hotel after the e
of a major coin show and you have coins your possession, I recommend moving to
another hotel for the night, keeping your valuables with you at all times. If
you stay at the property that housed hundreds of coin folks for several days,
you could be a very vulnerable lone ranger.
Loading, Unloading
When you arrive at a show site, familiarize yourself
with surroundings. Try to think like a thief and "case" the facility, looking
for problem areas. Trust your instincts.
Security personnel should be present in the loading
area. If you are bourse chairman of a show, make sure that they are standing
guard, not helping load and unload dealers' coins and cases, which they sometimes
do in an effort to be helpful
When packing or unloading your vehicle, always
remember, "Coins out first when arriving, coins in last when departing." If you
must make two trips to or from the car, arrange for someone to stay with your
vehicle. Don't forget that you are most at risk during show setup and breakdown.
Nobody is going to look out for you when they are busy with their own tasks,
and that includes security personnel, who may not yet have arrived for duty or
have
not been properly briefed.
Table Talk
Some bourse areas are quite large, and security
personnel can't be everywhere all the time. Deal ers always should lock their
inventory in carrying or display cases, especially during setup and breakdown.
If you must leave a bag unattended, be sure to place it on top of the table at
the back of your booth, and secure it to the table with a bicycle chain and lock.
A briefcase stored under a table allows a thief to pilfer the contents without
being observed by dealers' collectors or security staff.
Be sure to introduce yourself to the dealers on
either side of you, behind you and across the aisle. Let them know that when
they are away from their tables, you will try to keep an eye on their cases,
and ask if they would do the same for you. But remember, dealers are at a show
to buy and sell, not to "watch your coins. "
For dealers and exhibitors, table covers (or "body
bags") that can be zipped around display cases and locked like a duffel are excellent.
They are a strong deterrent to facility staff and contractors who might be tempted
to pilfer a few items. It never ceases to amaze me how, at the end of the day,
many dealers secure hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of rare coins by
covering their cases with an old bedsheet or piece of plastic. For good measure,
they place a chair on top.
The table at the back of the booth, often called
a "backup table," is an open invitation for thieves. Dealers who leave coins,
money pouches, or other valuables on these tables eventually will be ripped off.
Most insurance policies do not cover "mysterious" or unexplained
thefts. Some dealers are unaware that if they do not take "reasonable
precautions" their insurance company may not cover their losses.
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