DEALER ITALO VECCHI ARRAIGNED IN NYC

An Italian coin dealer was arraigned in Manhattan on Wednesday for possession of stolen coins worth one million dollars - after one he gave to his colleague sold for $4.1million.

Italo Vecchi was charged with one count of grand larceny in the first degree, two counts of conspiracy in the fourth degree and second degree criminal possession of stolen property, among other charges.

The 75-year-old worked with British coin dealer Richard Beale, who was charged in March over the fraudulent $4.1 million sale of the 'rarest and most valuable' coin in the world.

 

He arrived at criminal court at 3 p.m. handcuffed and with a cane, and was released within a half hour - leaving alongside his lawyer, Withers international law firm defense attorneys Georges Gilbert Lederman and Wendy Dickieson.

The District Attorney's office agreed to his release on his own recognizance.

Between 2013 and 2014, Vecchi, who is Italian citizen living in the United Kingdom, allegedly sold two rare coins to Beale without provenance.

One of the coins was referred to as the 'Eid Mar' coin, referring to an ancient Roman gold coin minted in 42 B.C. to celebrate the assassination of Julius Caesar on March 15 of 44 B.C.

But Beale, 38, allegedly falsified the coin's ownership history documents, known as its 'provenance', to make it more valuable and allow him to fetch a higher price for it.

The other coin, known as the 'Sicily Naxos' coin, was created in 430 B.C. and is one of the 'rarest and most prized ancient coins in the world,' according to the complaint.

Vecchi has allegedly been selling illegal coins for decades, according to court documents.

In 1992, the defendant was detained by United States customs officials for attempting to smuggle undeclared ancient Greek coins into the United States in his briefcase.

And then in 2012, the defendant also falsified provenance for a 4th B.C.E. silver coin, called an Akragas Dekadrachm, which was being sold for one million dollars at the annual New York International Numismatics Convention.

To read the complete article, see:
Dealer of the 'world's most expensive coin' which 'fraudulently sold' for a record $4.1M after its ownership records 'were falsified' is charged with grand larceny in NYC (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12224073/Dealer-worlds-expensive-coin-sold-4-1M-charged-grand-larceny-NYC.html)

To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
RICHARD BEALE OF ROMA NUMISMATICS ARRESTED (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n11a16.html)
IAPN STATEMENT ON FALSE PROVENANCES (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n12a13.html)

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