The famed Gold and Silver Pawn shop, featured on History Channel’s hit series “Pawn Stars,” may have melted down a precious coin collection that was allegedly stolen from a man by his niece.
A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to FOX411 that a criminal complaint was filed in Clark County Justice Court back in November 2013 by David Walters, whose said his coin collection was taken from a family member’s home by his niece, Jennifer Beckman.
Beckman then proceeded to sell its contents to Gold and Silver Pawn for $9,550 on three separate visits to the store—the first of which took place on Nov. 18, a rep for the store told us. Walters has claimed it was worth about $50,000.
Walters filed the complaint after he realized the coins were missing on Nov. 27, the rep said.
But a police office did not contact Gold and Silver Pawn until Dec. 5 to inform the store the coins were stolen, and by then they were long gone.
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“To the best of my knowledge, as the coins are unidentifiable, they may have been melted down,” the rep said. “They may have been sold. They may be in buckets with like coins waiting to be evaluated.”
Either way, they weren’t worth the $50,000 Walters had estimated, the rep said.
“These coins were worth far less than the gentleman thought they were worth.”
But even so, she suggests anyone with a valuable collection take extra care to be sure it is kept in a safe place.
“This is an education for people that if they are holding on the coins or currency that they believe have a value they should safeguard them and certainly be aware of laws in their state,” she said. “We have followed the letter of the law regarding this transaction and once the criminal is brought to trial we'll be there to testify on behalf of the prosecution.”
Gold and Silver Pawn is featured on the hit History Channel series. During each episode, customers bring in unique items and try to convince Rick Harrison, Corey Harrison, “The Old Man” and Chumlee to fork up cash for their goods.
Rick Harrison did not comment directly about the matter, however the rep said, “Gold and Silver Pawn and its owner Rick Harrison takes pride in their honest and fair dealings with all their customers and those who visit our shop. All employees are aware that they, too, must always be honest in their dealings and would be terminated if they are found to be dishonest in their dealings.”
A rep for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department could not immediately be reached for comment.
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