Rare Coins Stolen During Lighthouse Challenge
By Sue Clark on Jun 2, 2009 in News 
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$2500 Reward Offered For Return
Eighteen silver Spanish coins have been stolen from the museum at Horton Point Lighthouse during the recent Long Island Lighthouse Challenge. The coins were recovered from a shipwreck in 1994 and were enclosed in a plexiglas case. Police have no suspects at this time, but are in the process of compiling a list of the visitors who came through on May 16. The Museum bought them for $2000 eleven years ago, and they are the only documented Spanish treasure recovered from Long Island waters.
Local coin dealers and collectors have been contacted about the theft, and police are canvassing pawn shops and precious metals dealers in their investigation. The Southold Historical Society, which operates the museum, has offered a $2500 reward for the return of these coins.The society is waiting for an appraisal to determine their current value. The coins were dated from 1751 to 1782.
The Lighthouse Challenge is held annually on Long Island, and involves ten lighthouses. Participants visit each and receive a souvenir at each of the sites. It’s a cooperative effort between several of the island’s lighthouse groups, and their website is at www.lilighthousesociety.org.
An Inside Job?
Even though there was heavy traffic and “confusion” during the Challenge, because the coins were not lying about in the open, this had to have been planned. The plexiglas case in which they were enclosed would have been extremely difficult to open and the contents removed with other people around. It’s possible one of the visitors could have just seized the opportunity, but somehow that just doesn’t ring true. And if it was planned in advance, it scares me to think to what people will stoop for money.
Historical society director Geoffrey Fleming said the group is reevaluating its security arrangements, but unfortunately it’s a little late for that now. I would think the coins would have been reasonably safe in the plexiglas container. Not knowing when they were taken, beyond sometime May 16, or who was “minding the store,” I can’t really make any judgments about the situation. Looking at the Society’s page, there are multiple rooms, as the museum is in the keeper’s home, but the display cases seem fairly secure. I doubt if they had someone watching in each room, but if someone was nearby, surely they would have heard or saw something if it was an impulse theft.
If you were at the Challenge and have any information, or saw anything suspicious, please don’t hesitate to contact the Southold Police Department at 1-631-765-2600. Let’s help get those coins back where they belong.
Photo Credit: Horton Point Lighthouse by smikulen. Some rights reserved.
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