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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Burglars stole rare coins possibly worth $100,000 from a storage unit in Bluffdale, Salt Lake County sheriff's officers said.
They believe at least two burglars broke into four storage units at Penco Storage early Tuesday. In one unit they found 24 Liberty $20 coins and five St. Gaudens $20 coins, Detective Dan McConkey said.
The coins belonged to a couple who had just sold their home and converted cash profits into gold coins, which they kept at the storage facility "so they wouldn't be tempted to spend it," McConkey said.
He said the coins were uninsured and investigators have few clues.
Police have issued a nationwide alert, assuming that the burglars will try to sell the rare coins, which are encased in Lucite and carry serial numbers.
McConkey said he hopes the thieves do not take the coins out of their plastic containers because that could decrease their value by half.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
