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Thief steals $10,000 worth of rare coins from lifelong collector

Posted at 12:41 PM, Feb 06, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-06 14:41:01-05

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    FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio (WEWS) — A lifelong coin collector is hoping someone will turn in the person who stole more than $10,000 worth of his prized possessions.

74-year-old Joseph Barnett drove up to the monthly coin show at the American Legion Post on Brookpark Rd. in Fairview Park from his home in Bowling Green last weekend. He said it was his fourth time attending.

While he was sitting at a table with his coin collection displayed, Barnett said surveillance video shows a man hovering over the table before dropping a sweatshirt over a binder, picking it up, and walking out of the building.

The binder contained approximately 280 Morgan and Peace silver dollar coins from 1891 to 1921, worth upwards of $10,000.

But it’s beyond that dollar figure for Barnett, who said he spent his entire life collecting them.

“It’s a real shame,” he said.

The theft occurred during the busiest time of the show. Barnett said he must have been distracted for just a split second.

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