Australia: Man steals limited-edition 'Bluey' coins based on kids show worth $400,000
Bluey coin
An Australian man will appear in court on Wednesday after being arrested for allegedly stealing over Australian $600,000 ($393,000) worth of commemorative coins connected to the children's TV show "Bluey," according to police.
The 47-year-old is accused of taking 63,000 unreleased, limited-edition $1 coins from a secure warehouse in Wetherill Park, Sydney, in June. This case is being investigated by "Strike Force Bandit," a special police unit formed for the case.
"Bluey," an Australian animated show for kids, was one of last year's top-streamed TV shows in the U.S. and is also popular among adults, ranking as the 14th highest-rated show of all time on movie tracker site IMDB.com.
The Australian mint has produced new A$1 coins that are legal tender and look like standard coins but feature the character "Bluey." Police report these coins are being sold online for ten times their face value.
A similar set of commemorative coins, which are not legal tender and meant only for collectors, sells for A$20 each on the mint's website. However, one eBay seller was asking nearly A$600 for a set of three.
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Detective Superintendent Joseph Doueihi mentioned at a press conference that he was unaware of the show's popularity at first.
"The theft of these coins have deprived a lot of young children and members of the community from having access to these coins, so we're doing our absolute best to try to recover these coins and put them back into circulation,” he said.
Police reported that the man worked at the warehouse where the coins were kept for two days before heading to Brisbane. They claim he stole the 500 kg(1102 lb) of coins from a truck with the help of two other men. The coins were quickly sold online.
In June, a raid on a Sydney home recovered 189 coins. However, Doueihi mentioned that most of the coins are already in circulation. He said that anyone who has received one does not need to return it to the police.
(With inputs from agencies)