US Coins

Error coinage reported stolen at Denver Mint

An employee of the Denver Mint is alleged to have stolen at least 185 error coins from the facility.

Image by Bill Hathorn from Wikipedia Commons.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General’s most recent Semi-Annual Report to Congress acknowledges the theft of error coins from production at the Denver Mint and the subsequent recovery of 185 error coins.

According to the report, the OIG’s Office of Investigations opened a probe after being alerted that a Denver Mint employee had stolen error coins.

Details in the report are sketchy and responses to Coin World’s questions have not been provided.

The report does not indicate whether the 185 error coins recovered represent the total number of error coins stolen nor when the theft took place.

The report does not indicate in what capacity the unidentified Denver Mint employee serves. Three of the stolen error coins had been handed out as souvenirs by the alleged thief.

The Denver Mint employee received a 14-day suspension, after the OIG’s office provided the Mint with information gained from its probe into the theft.

According to the report, criminal prosecution of the employee was presented to and declined by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado in Denver.

Coin World filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking details on the theft, the types of error coins taken, how the error coins were removed from the Denver Mint and the job classification for the alleged thief.

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