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An Australian man has been charged over the theft of $600,000 worth of special coins from the children’s television series “Bluey”. The case involved an employee at a warehouse where the coins were temporarily stored.
Most thieves target real money, but not Steven John Neilson, 47. The warehouse worker is accused of stealing 64,000 unused “Bluey coins” worth about AUD$600,000 (about €360,000). The coins in question refer to the program Bruyone of Australia’s most popular children’s animated series. The series tells the story of a blue dog with great curiosity, imagination and energy. The show is ranked 14th on IMDB.com’s list of the most watched shows of all time.
Because the series was so popular, the coins were in high demand. Nelson, 47, knew this. He may have stolen 64,000 of the coins with the inscription “$1” from the warehouse where he worked. Considering that less than 100,000 coins from the entire series were minted, this is indeed a remarkable feat.
Nelson may have stolen 64,000 of these coins — © AFP
The theft may have taken place on June 23, when Nelson stole the package from the back of a truck. Just hours after the man stole the coins, they were sold online for 10 times the normal price.
These coins have been sold (illegally) online for some time. However, many people have already purchased these illegal coins, knowingly or unknowingly. After multiple searches, the police only found 1,000 coins in the man’s possession. These 1,000 pieces have now been confiscated. It is suspected that the remaining coins are already in circulation.
“If you are one of the lucky ones who purchased one of these coins, we would not ask you to hand over that coin,” Detective Inspector Joseph Doueihi told Australian media. “It is now in circulation and it is not a problem for us, but if you have any information about where a large number of these coins are stored, we ask that you contact police as soon as possible.” Nelson is due to appear in court today.
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