On December 24^th, 2007 Georgia Department of Natural Resources Site Manager Angela Johnson received information, from an anonymous caller, of a possible conspiracy to steal valuable coins from the Dahlonega Gold Museum. Ms. Johnson was able to engage the caller in further conversation and obtain information which would later help investigators. Ms. Johnson quickly notified the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office and investigators began an investigation into the conspiracy.

Deputies and investigators assessed the vulnerability of the coins and determined the security for the coins was extensive and made the conspired theft highly improbable. Since the information indicated the crime was to occur by a certain date, a deputy and city marshal employee provided additional security for the museum during operating hours and a deputy provided frequent security checks of the area during non operational hours.

Investigators searched a number of databases and similar reported crimes for information about the alleged conspirators. Sgt. Mitchell Salain, from the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office, was able to determine one of the suspects had recently visited the Dahlonega Gold Museum and had researched the value of the coins. Further investigation determined the conspirators lived in separate states, one in Florida and the other in New Hampshire.

Sgt. Mitchell Salain was eventually able to speak with one of the alleged co-conspirators who denied involvement in the plot. The co-conspirator was put on notice about our knowledge of the conspiracy and was advised not to attempt or for that matter even think about a theft at the gold museum.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were both contacted. There is no evidence that any part of the conspiracy occurred in Georgia so no charges were filed by the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office.

Information about the conspiracy was also forwarded to the Numismatic Crime Information Center, which is a resource and database for worldwide investigations related to coin and artifact thefts. Information from this case will be compared to other coin thefts which have occurred in other areas of the world. In January of 2007 approximately $4 million worth of coins, some of which were Dahlonega Mint coins, were stolen from coin dealers in Florida but at this time there is no known link between the Dahlonega Gold Museum conspiracy and the recent theft in Florida.