PA - Parked truck containing 7.5 million dimes broken open, 1-2 million stolen, Walmart parking lot, Franklin Mills - Philadelphia, 12-13 Apr 2023

[ifindedout]

Thief Steals $200K in Dimes From Cargo Truck in Philly, Police Say

An investigation is underway after someone stole around $200,000 worth of dimes from a tractor trailer in the parking lot of Philadelphia Mills in Northeast Philadelphia.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

The truck driver had picked up a load of dimes worth a total of $750,000 from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia and parked the vehicle in the Walmart parking lot of Franklin Mills along the 4300 block of Byberry Road Wednesday night. The driver was supposed to take the dimes to Florida but left the truck unattended in the parking lot, police said.

“Common practice with drivers to pick up loads. He was going to Florida,” Philadelphia Police Captain John Ryan said. “They park the truck overnight to get on the road in the morning.”

At some point overnight into Thursday morning, someone used a bolt cutter to break into the truck and stole a portion of the dimes. When police arrived at the scene around 6 a.m. Thursday, they noticed dimes scattered all over the parking lot. Investigators estimated the unidentified thief stole about $100,000 worth of dimes.

Video story from 6abc Action News

Sources vary on how many were stolen, some sources are saying up to 2 million.
According to Coin News, the Mint struck over 2 billion dimes for circulation in 2021, about 52% of which were minted in Denver and 48% in Philadelphia.

U.S. Coin Production Closed in on 14.5 Billion in 2021 | CoinNews

The pace of striking U.S. coins for circulation was quick in 2021 but down from 2020, production figures from the United States Mint show. U.S. minting facilities shipped nearly 14.5 billion coins to Federal Reserve Banks for release into circulation in calendar year 2021, dipping 1.9% from the...

www.coinnews.net

 

[killarney rose]

I don’t think people realize how very heavy these boxes of coins from the mint really are. It took some muscle to steal $100,000 worth of dimes. Not to mention trying to exchange them for bills. the boxes I handled at work contained $500 in dimes.

 

[Eli9]

I don’t think people realize how very heavy these boxes of coins from the mint really are. It took some muscle to steal $100,000 worth of dimes. Not to mention trying to exchange them for bills. the boxes I handled at work contained $500 in dimes.

That's what I was wondering. I did a quick google to learn that 100 dollars in dimes weighs about 5 pounds. Times that by $100,000

 

[HMSHood]

I wonder if this could be an inside job.

 

[katydid23]

If you had 100k worth of dimes, how would you cash them in? I'd go to various casinos maybe, and use the coin to cash machine. But you would get busted if you did too many at once.

And those coins will be marked soon as fraudulent/stolen...so not a good thing to steal

 

[HMSHood]

If you had 100k worth of dimes, how would you cash them in? I'd go to various casinos maybe, and use the coin to cash machine. But you would get busted if you did too many at once.

And those coins will be marked soon as fraudulent/stolen...so not a good thing to steal

Not worth the trouble in the end.

 

[acutename]

That's what I was wondering. I did a quick google to learn that 100 dollars in dimes weighs about 5 pounds. Times that by $100,000

5000 lbs? It was not a Smart Car or a Honda Civic IMO.

 

[keptbycats]

Why are they transporting $750K in a box truck? Isn't it more customary to use armored vehicles for large amounts of money?

 

[mickey2942]

If you had 100k worth of dimes, how would you cash them in? I'd go to various casinos maybe, and use the coin to cash machine. But you would get busted if you did too many at once.

And those coins will be marked soon as fraudulent/stolen...so not a good thing to steal

You would have to have a business, and just deposit them along with the rest of the cash each day. Or Coinstar?

The problem is that so many people are going to cards...that much change would attract attention.

 

[musicaljoke]

You would have to have a business, and just deposit them along with the rest of the cash each day. Or Coinstar?

The problem is that so many people are going to cards...that much change would attract attention.

It would be a ton of work to get that many dimes exchanged. Would they be worth more melted down?

 

[killarney rose]

Don’t forget, they aren’t solid silver, they are copper clad with nickel plate mixed With copper. Couldn’t be worth the trouble melted down.

 

[PrairieWind]

Who would need all those dimes?

 

[mickey2942]

It really is funny. I mean, it isn't like you can pay your rent in dimes. Or go to Walmart and pay for beer with all dimes, even at self check. Maybe sell them to someone who could use them, they wouldn't even give half value probably.

 

[killarney rose]

One of those,” it sounded good at the time” moments. Kind of like, “ hey y’all, watch this”. That never turns out well. I have to ask, how did they know that the truck was hauling the dimes?

 

[musicaljoke]

Don’t forget, they aren’t solid silver, they are copper clad with nickel plate mixed With copper. Couldn’t be worth the trouble melted down.

Might be worth it if the raw materials cost nothing.

Melting coins for fun & big profits

www.baltimoresun.com

 

[musicaljoke]

Who would need all those dimes?

Hahaha! Oh gracious, what a find!

 

[Glimma0927]

I have to wonder if they were expecting the truck to be carrying a larger denomination--$1 coins, maybe? Still, larger coins, more weight...not the best plan.

 

[Puzzleworth]

I wonder if this could be an inside job.

Since no one's said it: the police ought to set up a tip line. With a big enough reward, someone's bound to drop a dime!

Why are they transporting $750K in a box truck? Isn't it more customary to use armored vehicles for large amounts of money?

This is a quote from the article. Something tells me that company lost the contract:

The truck that was broken into is owned by the transportation service Keen Cargo. NBC10 reached out to Keen Cargo and U.S. Mint for comment. We have not yet heard back from Keen Cargo. John Chu, the Acting Chief of Public Affairs at the United States Mint, responded Thursday night in a statement.


“The carrier responsible for the shipment is a commercial contractor and is personally insured against incidents of loss or theft,” Chu wrote. “The Mint has implemented countermeasures to aid in the prevention of similar types of thefts in the future. The Philadelphia Police Department is currently conducting an investigation into the theft.”

 

[Glimma0927]

Why are they transporting $750K in a box truck? Isn't it more customary to use armored vehicles for large amounts of money?

Weight. Using the weight of a dime according to the US Mint, 7.5 million dimes would weigh 17,010 kilograms (17 metric tons, 18.7 US tons). In order to legally travel the highways, greater amounts of weight need trucks with more axles in order to avoid exceeding weight-per-axle limitations. [highway axle regulations for those interested]
(edit x3: math)

 

[Trebor5591]

The truck driver had picked up a load of dimes worth a total of $750,000 from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia and parked the vehicle in the Walmart parking lot of Franklin Mills along the 4300 block of Byberry Road Wednesday night. The driver was supposed to take the dimes to Florida but left the truck unattended in the parking lot, police said.

“Common practice with drivers to pick up loads. He was going to Florida,” Philadelphia Police Captain John Ryan said. “They park the truck overnight to get on the road in the morning.”

At some point overnight into Thursday morning, someone used a bolt cutter to break into the truck and stole a portion of the dimes. When police arrived at the scene around 6 a.m. Thursday, they noticed dimes scattered all over the parking lot. Investigators estimated the unidentified thief stole about $100,000 worth of dimes.

Video story from 6abc Action News

Sources vary on how many were stolen, some sources are saying up to 2 million.
According to Coin News, the Mint struck over 2 billion dimes for circulation in 2021, about 52% of which were minted in Denver and 48% in Philadelphia.

This screams "inside job"!