A North Texas coin dealer says he helped reunite a man with $100,000 of stolen treasure after the rare coins showed up in his shop.
Christian Lyche has been collecting and dealing coins since he was a kid, and he's since become an expert on rare and hard-to-find coins.
So on Monday, when a woman came into Gold Standard Auctions in Farmer’s Branch with a collection that included coins priced at $20,000 and $30,000 apiece, Lyche began asking questions.
"She didn't seem to know much about them at all. She said that her grandfather had recently given them to her, but it just didn't make sense,” said Lyche.
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Lyche said the woman asked about $15,000 for a set of coins he estimated was worth more than $100,000.
He was also pretty sure he'd seen the coins before. A quick search of his client database showed he'd sold them three years before to a client in Wichita Falls. Lyche immediately called the client.
“He said, ‘What?!’ You know. He was shocked. He said, ‘Are you absolutely sure?'" said Lyche. "Immediately, he said, ‘That's my maid. That's my maid.’"
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Lyche said he was able to stall the woman at his office for nearly an hour as they waited for police from Farmer's Branch to arrive. By the next morning, she was behind bars.
Farmer's Branch police have confirmed they're investigating.
Jail records in Wichita Falls show Brenda Velasquez was booked Tuesday on theft charges of more than $300,000.
Lyche said he's just grateful to see the coins go home.
"The sentimental value of these coins is tremendous. This collector also said that he was going to pass this collection down to his children,” he said.
He hoped the story would serve as a warning to others to lock up their valuables when others are in their homes.
When his store was burglarized in 2019, Lyche never got his coins back. He knows this happy ending is rare.
