More than $600,000 worth of Bluey ‘Dollarbuck’ coins by Royal Australian Mint stolen from Sydney warehouse
A man is accused of stealing more than $600,000 worth of unreleased limited edition Bluey coins, featuring the beloved Australian children’s cartoon character, and selling them online.
Produced by the Royal Australian Mint, the “Dollarbuck” $1 coins, which featured an image of Bluey chasing a balloon, were set to be released into general circulation in September.
However, that day came early after they were allegedly looted from a Sydney warehouse and sold for profit.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Police will allege the opportunistic thief was an employee at the Wetherill Park warehouse when he stole the packages of coins from the back of a truck on June 23.
Robbery and Serious Crime Squad commander Detective Superintendent Joesph Doueihi said police believe the man, and two others, moved the coins to another location to offload them.
Just hours later, the coins were listed and sold online for anywhere up to $10 each.
Police were alerted to the alleged theft on July 12, when officers were called to the warehouse and discovered 63,000 unreleased Bluey coins had been stolen.
In true Bluey fashion, Strike Force “Bandit” was launched as detectives worked to track down those responsible.
Doueihi said it was a “bingo moment” when detectives located some of the stolen coins through a legitimate coin collector, who had advertised the coins online after “innocently” coming into their possession.
He added police “strongly believe” some of the coins “have been circulated back into the community” and were in general use.
Doueihi said it was not clear exactly how much the stolen coins were sold for.
“We don’t know what he sold them for, but we know that as soon as they were stolen, they were offloaded almost immediately.”
Police searched a home in Sefton on July 31 and found 189 “Dollarbucks” and seized electronics.
On Wednesday, detectives searched a home in Westmead and arrested a 47-year-old man.
He was charged with three counts of break, enter and commit serious indictable offence.
He faced Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday and was refused bail.
The Royal Australian Mint launched its Bluey coin collection earlier this year when it released the eagerly awaited “Dollarbuck” $1 coins for collectors and keen fans.
Collector coins featured colour images of Bluey, the entire Heeler family, and Bluey and Bingo dressed up as the Grannies.
Meanwhile, the stolen coins were solely gold-coloured, as they were intended for everyday use, Doueihi said.
Luckily for those who may have ended up with one in their pocket, police are not asking people to hand in the coins.
“If you have information where bulk quantities of coins are stored, we ask you contact police as soon as possible,” Doueihi said.
Doueihi said police believe the other men allegedly involved would be identified and arrested in the near future.
The Australian cartoon’s popularity was not lost on police, who slammed the theft as an act that “deprived a lot of young children and members of the community from accessing them”.
“If the producers decide to make an episode on this, that would be fine,” Doueihi joked.
Investigations continue.
Anyone with information that may help investigators is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online via nsw.crimestoppers.com.au.
Originally published on 7NEWS