An Italian coin dealer was arraigned in Manhattan on Wednesday for possession of stolen coins worth one million dollars – after one he gave to his colleague sold for $4.1million.
Italo Vecchi was charged with one count of grand larceny in the first degree, two counts of conspiracy in the fourth degree and second degree criminal possession of stolen property, among other charges.
The 75-year-old worked with British coin dealer Richard Beale, who was charged in March over the fraudulent $4.1 million sale of the ‘rarest and most valuable’ coin in the world.
He arrived at criminal court at 3 p.m. handcuffed and with a cane, and was released within a half hour – leaving alongside his lawyer, defense attorney Georges Gilbert Lederman.
The District Attorney’s office agreed to his release on his own recognizance.
Vecchi (center) arrived at criminal court at 3 p.m. with a cane, and was released within a half hour – leaving court alongside his lawyer, defense attorney Georges Gilbert Lederman (left)
Minted to celebrate the assassination of Julius Caesar, this 2000-year-old Roman coin was sold by Beale in October 2020 for a record-breaking $4.1 million – the highest price ever paid for an ancient coin at auction
The professional coin dealer is also alleged to have falsified the provenance of the Sicily Naxos silver coin, minted around 430 BC, which Beale sold for $293,000 at the same auction as the Eid Mar
Between 2013 and 2014, Vecchi, who is Italian citizen living in the United Kingdom, allegedly sold two rare coins to Beale without provenance.
One of the coins was referred to as the ‘Eid Mar’ coin, referring to an ancient Roman gold coin minted in 42 B.C. to celebrate the assassination of Julius Caesar on March 15 of 44 B.C.
Minted to celebrate the assassination of Julius Caesar, this 2000-year-old Roman coin was sold by Beale in October 2020 for a record-breaking $4.1 million – the highest price ever paid for an ancient coin at auction.
But Beale, 38, allegedly falsified the coin’s ownership history documents, known as its ‘provenance’, to make it more valuable and allow him to fetch a higher price for it.
The other coin, known as the ‘Sicily Naxos’ coin, was created in 430 B.C. and is one of the ‘rarest and most prized ancient coins in the world,’ according to the complaint.
Vecchi has allegedly been selling illegal coins for decades, according to court documents.
In 1992, the defendant was detained by United States customs officials for attempting to smuggle undeclared ancient Greek coins into the United States in his briefcase.
And then in 2012, the defendant also falsified provenance for a 4th B.C.E. silver coin, called an Akragas Dekadrachm, which was being sold for one million dollars at the annual New York International Numismatics Convention.
Italo Vecchi (pictured) is seen walking out of criminal court after being arraigned in Manhattan for possession of stolen coins valued in excess of one million dollars
Between 2013 and 2014, Vecchi (center) who is Italian citizen living in the United Kingdom, allegedly sold two rare coins to Beale without provenance
Vecchi has been selling illegal coins for decades, according to court documents
The ‘defendant and his co-conspirator … deceived potential buyers by creating false provenance for the Eid Mar Coin and the Sicily Naxos Coin so that both coins would be viewed as legitimate and ascribed a certain value,’ the court document wrote.
Beale, the owner of London-based auction house Roma Numismatics, allegedly falsified the ownership records of the two ancient coins he sold at a 2020 auction, including the Eid Mar coin.
Vecchi worked at Roma Numismatics as a consultant specialist,
According to the complaint, Beale and Vecchi ‘deceived potential buyers by creating false provenance for the Eid Mar Coin and the Sicily Naxos Coin so that both coins would be viewed as legitimate and ascribed a certain value.’
In 2014 Beale was allegedly given the coveted Eid Mar coin to sell by his ‘co-conspirator’ Vecchi, who was detained by US customs in 1992 for attempting to smuggle ancient Greek coins into the country, according to the complaint document.
Richard Beale, the owner of London-based auction house Roma Numismatics, allegedly falsified the ownership records of two ancient coins he sold
But Beale, 38, allegedly falsified the coin’s ownership history documents, known as its ‘provenance’, to make it more valuable and allow him to fetch a higher price for it.
In January Beale was charged with Grand Larceny in the First Degree and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the First Degree on top of eight other counts. If found guilty, he could be facing up to 25 years in jail.
According to Special Agent Brenton Easter, the auction house owner ‘admitted to me that he paid for the provenance’ but said ‘this was the first and only time that [he] had ever paid for provenance’.
When an informant told Beale ahead of the auction that the coin’s provenance was false, Vecchi and Beale allegedly offered them 100,000 Swiss Francs to sign the provenance documents, which was refused.
The professional coin dealer is also alleged to have falsified the provenance of the Sicily Naxos silver coin, minted around 430 BC, which Beale sold for $293,000 at the same auction as the Eid Mar.
It is further alleged that Beale bought five coins in 2018 ‘from a convicted antiquities trafficker’ which came from the ‘Gaza Hoard’ – a cache of ancient coins looted in the Gaza Strip in 2017 before being ‘smuggled to Israel, and ultimately London’.
The complaint states that Beale ‘sold these freshly looted coins through Roma Numismatics with the false provenance ‘from a private Canadian collection”.
Vecchi’s next court appearance is scheduled for September 7 at 9:00 am.
