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Thieves ram original Wells Fargo in San Francisco, grab gold nuggets
http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Thieves-ram-original-Wells-Fargo-bank-steal-gold-6042867.phpThieves in ski masks smashed a stolen sport utility vehicle into the site of the original Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco’s Financial District early Tuesday and held a security guard at gunpoint before making off with gold nuggets from California’s Gold Rush era, police said.
The crash-and-grab heist — the latest of a series of similar incidents in San Francisco — happened about 2:30 a.m. at the bank’s museum at 420 Montgomery St.
The intruders rammed the GMC Suburban through the museum’s glass revolving doors, police said. A security guard investigating the crash was held at gunpoint by the assailants, who then smashed into display cases and made off with historic nuggets and gold ore, police said....
The museum is located on the site where Wells Fargo Bank opened in 1852. Besides the gold, the museum features other artifacts, including a historic red and gold stagecoach — the emblem of the nation’s fourth largest bank.
The crash-and-grab heist — the latest of a series of similar incidents in San Francisco — happened about 2:30 a.m. at the bank’s museum at 420 Montgomery St.
The intruders rammed the GMC Suburban through the museum’s glass revolving doors, police said. A security guard investigating the crash was held at gunpoint by the assailants, who then smashed into display cases and made off with historic nuggets and gold ore, police said....
The museum is located on the site where Wells Fargo Bank opened in 1852. Besides the gold, the museum features other artifacts, including a historic red and gold stagecoach — the emblem of the nation’s fourth largest bank.
You don't suppose the driver was a black guy named Bart, do you?
8 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
They can't easily sell the nuggets as is without attracting attention, and melting them down will leave them with equally suspicious gold "ingots". I guess they could turn them into jewelry, but something tells me they aren't that ambitious. Maybe they'll just put in an envelope and send it to one of Beck and Limbaugh's "We buy gold" rip-offs. 
http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Wells-Fargo-museum-crashers-got-the-gold-but-6043964.php
The thieves who crashed a stolen SUV into a Wells Fargo museum Tuesday in downtown San Francisco probably weren’t big history buffs, because the gold they stole was chump change compared to the priceless artifacts right next to their elbows as they scooped up the nuggets.
An elaborate 1850s gold-weighing scale, in particular, was in the very case that the robbers smashed into — and its worth in Gold Rush history and banking lore is practically incalculable, said Robert Chandler, a retired historian for Wells Fargo and an authority on Western history....
A few feet from the scale sat an original Wells Fargo stagecoach — the most famous symbol of Gold Rush-era banking, and also priceless in historical value.
The thieves apparently didn’t rip off any parts of those displays, or any of the other historical irreplaceables, including a vintage telegraph. Instead, they snatched up to 10 ounces of gold in ore and nuggets — worth, at most, $12,950 on the current market.
An elaborate 1850s gold-weighing scale, in particular, was in the very case that the robbers smashed into — and its worth in Gold Rush history and banking lore is practically incalculable, said Robert Chandler, a retired historian for Wells Fargo and an authority on Western history....
A few feet from the scale sat an original Wells Fargo stagecoach — the most famous symbol of Gold Rush-era banking, and also priceless in historical value.
The thieves apparently didn’t rip off any parts of those displays, or any of the other historical irreplaceables, including a vintage telegraph. Instead, they snatched up to 10 ounces of gold in ore and nuggets — worth, at most, $12,950 on the current market.
