A set of rare and historic coins has been stolen from a display case at the Loudoun County courthouse, authorities said today.
The 14 coins include a King George III penny, which dates to the mid- to late-1700s and is worth about $5,000, said Kraig Troxell, a spokesman for the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office.
The coins were reported missing by a court patron who noticed the case last Tuesday morning and then went to take a better look Wednesday morning, but discovered the set gone.
The coins, which also include pennies and dimes from the 19th and 20th centuries, were found during an archaeological dig on the Leesburg courthouse's lawn in 1997. There has been a courthouse on the grounds since shortly after Loudoun County separated from neighboring Fairfax in 1757.
The coins were kept in one of two display cases in a hallway outside the county's circuit court rooms. An adhesive that had kept a glass top secured on the case was jimmied open and the coins removed. A variety of other artifacts contained in the same case, including marbles and glass and bottle shards, were not taken.
Troxell said a security camera nearby did not provide a clear view of the display case, focusing instead on a seating area nearby. There were also no witnesses to the theft, though Troxell said investigators are theorizing that they were probably taken in broad daylight, while court was in session.
"It's someone very bold," he said. "But there are all different kinds of people walking in and out of the courthouse everyday."
