Stolen coin back at store within hours

VERO BEACH, Fla., Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Police in Florida said a $9,000 coin stolen from an antique store was brought back within a few hours by someone who purchased it from the alleged thief.

Police said Christopher William Saunders, 27, of Vero Beach, took the coin from the West Bay Trading Company in Vero Beach while selling some coins at the business Friday and sold it for $167 that same day to Gold Coast Antiques, TCPalm.com reported Thursday.

The antique store owner took the coin to West Bay Trading Company for a resale and the owner of that store recognized it as coming from the Luz, a Spanish treasure vessel that sank in 1752.

The West Bay owner realized his identical coin was missing when he took out his collection to compare the items. The two store owners conversed about Saunders, who had shown his ID at West Bay. He was arrested by police.

Saunders, who told police he did not know the worth of the coin, was charged with grand theft and two counts of dealing in stolen property. He was jailed in lieu of $20,000 bail.