GAT_00: I like how the image gets smaller when you click on it.



It was shrinkage!

So... who else gets the feeling that their security system that "did not sound" was a halfassed one you probably wouldn't even expect to stop thieves from breaking into your home (it's more there for visual effect and to satisfy the insurance requirement of having a "security system").

Also... I bet the $3M is the assayed estimate for historical value (and what the county will put on the insurance claim). The gold value is probably $500k. In other words, the county who feels so "betrayed" is going to net a cool $3M over this deal. That's a heck of a lot of traffic camera citations they don't have to issue.

Beautiful town. Shouldn't be too hard to find the perps, they're the ones with a new monster truck.

FTA :

"East's blog features a photo of the collection taken in 1947 by local shutterbug Snappy Goodrich."

You have got to be kidding me. Snappy Goodrich? Seriously? It only gets better when you find out Snappy married Minnie Dae Clodfelter.

At that point you have to seriously start wondering if this isn't an insiders-only joke the locals use on the outsiders.

Sheriff, FTA: "We will not rest until the perpetrators are identified and held to answer for their crimes."

Now let's go get a bite to eat.

Why wasn't it in a bank in the middle of Beverly Hills?

I've always wondered about the security on that exhibit, and it always fired up my imaginations since I was a kid. It had some awesome nuggets displayed, in a very small, quiet courthouse. It always seemed like something you could just smash and grab. The sucky thing, as mentioned by others above, is that it had historical value as well -- it was a major tie in to the Gold Rush history and some of the nuggets themselves had interesting history.

Wodan11: Also... I bet the $3M is the assayed estimate for historical value (and what the county will put on the insurance claim). The gold value is probably $500k. In other words, the county who feels so "betrayed" is going to net a cool $3M over this deal. That's a heck of a lot of traffic camera citations they don't have to issue.

I don't know, it was a lot of gold. It had some of the biggest nuggets found in the California gold rush. It was more than most jewelry stores would have on site. I can believe there was $3M there at current gold prices.

IIRC, they put the security system in when someone walked out with it in the early eighties. I was in first or second grade at the time so maybe 1982 or so?

I bet it was an inside job. Struggling town needs cash, sets up a fake robbery, gets paid on the back end for the insured gold to the tune of three million!

jabelar: I don't know, it was a lot of gold. It had some of the biggest nuggets found in the California gold rush. It was more than most jewelry stores would have on site. I can believe there was $3M there at current gold prices.

Well, $3M at today's price of $1750/troy ounce appears to be almost two tons of gold.

Maybe I'm doing the maths wrong.

highrye: IIRC, they put the security system in when someone walked out with it in the early eighties. I was in first or second grade at the time so maybe 1982 or so?

It must have been a security system from 1982. The one I have protecting my assets are impenetrable and will even run for two days with the power and communication lines cut. Seriously, nothing larger than a mouse can move without setting off the alarm. It even senses breaking glass and immediately summons the police without human intervention. It ran me less than $500 installed. I can't imagine it ever failing under any circumstances. Hell, before it burns up it will even summon the fire department before giving up the ghost.

I can imagine a politician not upgrading a security system for 20 years. I can also see an insurance company using this as a reason to deny the claim. I know my insurance company requires me to certify my system is working, and stay current with technology (i.e. upgrade every few years). As cheap and effective modern alarms are, there are no reasons not to.

Wodan11: Maybe I'm doing the maths wrong.

Yes, you are.

$3 million in gold at today's spot price is 1,710 troy ounces. Converted to pounds, it is only 117 pounds. Or 53.2 kilograms. Or .76 typical standard human mass. In volume it would only be .053 cubic meters.

/ why yes...
// I know how to use Wolfram Alpha.
/// Why do you ask?

I guess if you're going to display $3M worth of gold nuggets, maybe you should spend a couple of bucks to make sure you have an alarm system that actually works. Was the electrical cord that powers the alarm system plugged into the wall outlet beside the display?

Nice geological specimens of gold will easily bring in 2-3x the value of the bullion content.
Or, sadly, is easily melted down if you're a thief looking for quick profit.
I trust the cops have hit all the local area "cash for gold" outlets?

GoldDude: Nice geological specimens of gold will easily bring in 2-3x the value of the bullion content.
Or, sadly, is easily melted down if you're a thief looking for quick profit.
I trust the cops have hit all the local area "cash for gold" outlets?

Even melted down, unless they refine it, the gold is still traceable due to specific trace elements from the mine. But yeah, they really should have had a better security system.

I know how to solve this.

/whoever smelt it dealt it

highrye: GoldDude: Nice geological specimens of gold will easily bring in 2-3x the value of the bullion content.
Or, sadly, is easily melted down if you're a thief looking for quick profit.
I trust the cops have hit all the local area "cash for gold" outlets?

Even melted down, unless they refine it, the gold is still traceable due to specific trace elements from the mine. But yeah, they really should have had a better security system.

Assuming, of course, they ever find it. A smart thief could have it smelted in to one pound bars and go on a road trip hitting pawn shops along the way, starting on the other side of the country. Wouldn't seem any different than any of the dozens of sellers they see every week.

1macgeek: Wodan11: Maybe I'm doing the maths wrong.

Yes, you are.

$3 million in gold at today's spot price is 1,710 troy ounces. Converted to pounds, it is only 117 pounds. Or 53.2 kilograms. Or .76 typical standard human mass. In volume it would only be .053 cubic meters.

/ why yes...
// I know how to use Wolfram Alpha.
/// Why do you ask?

Thanks for backing me up. Since gold is so dense, the amount it takes to weigh an oz is deceiving. A couple quarter sized pieces will make up an oz. The display as I remember it could easily have had the same amount of volume as a few thousand quarters, some nuggets were like big rocks of gold --> quite possibly a couple million dollars.

SharkTrager: A smart thief could have it smelted in to one pound bars and go on a road trip hitting pawn shops along the way, starting on the other side of the country. Wouldn't seem any different than any of the dozens of sellers they see every week.

Assuming there are such critters as "smart thieves", you are right. If this was just a smash-and-HELLO!-what-do-we-have-here? crime of opportunity, they are probably not. If they are smart enough to use a paper-corporation where they don't have to use their own ID, and dump it one ounce at a time, they will get away with it. If they try it themselves and dump it all at once... Hello PMITA prison!

I would still like to know why the alarm didn't go off, and who thought it was a good idea to keep gold on public display once it hit $1K per ounce. What? You never heard of gold spray paint on fake rocks before?

Well... there's that and I really, really want to know if the whole Snappy Goodrich / Minnie Dae Clodfelter thing is just a joke. It almost has to be.

Rick will give them a cool $80 for it.

Wodan11: jabelar: I don't know, it was a lot of gold. It had some of the biggest nuggets found in the California gold rush. It was more than most jewelry stores would have on site. I can believe there was $3M there at current gold prices.

Well, $3M at today's price of $1750/troy ounce appears to be almost two tons of gold.

Maybe I'm doing the maths wrong.

Just under 143 lbs, if 99.999% pure.

1macgeek: Wodan11: Maybe I'm doing the maths wrong.

Yes, you are.

$3 million in gold at today's spot price is 1,710 troy ounces. Converted to pounds, it is only 117 pounds. Or 53.2 kilograms. Or .76 typical standard human mass. In volume it would only be .053 cubic meters.

/ why yes...
// I know how to use Wolfram Alpha.
/// Why do you ask?

There are 12 troy oz in a pound.

GDubDub: There are 12 troy oz in a pound.

Incorrect. There are 12 troy ounces in a TROY pound.

Gotcha.