Coin Show Security Tips - Leaving the Show

By S. O'Brien for Bob O'Brien

Coin show security tips are most important when leaving a coin show since you can be the most vulnerable especially if you have made several purchases. Some criminals meld with the other attendees at a show for the main purpose of finding the best targets. Those are people they perceive as the most vulnerable, the easiest to rob and with significant valuables.

With forethought and alertness, you can minimize being a target and maximize your safety as you leave the show:

1. Remove show badge as you exit the show (for large shows where badges are required)

2. Ask for help getting bulk items safely to your vehicle from the bourse chairman, show security or the dealer who sold you the items

3. Hold your valuables (in unmarked bags or a locked briefcase) closely as you walk to your vehicle

4. Don’t discuss your purchases where people can overhear outside of the show

5. Walk with someone you know to the parking lot and all the way to your car, if possible

6. Remember where you parked, have your keys in hand with the alarm button readily available

7. Walk briskly with assurance and purpose to your car with your head up and your eyes and ears aware

8. Pay attention to your surroundings for suspicious characters or activities

9. Observe the cars around you to insure no one is hiding inside or beside them while waiting for a target

10. Do not remotely unlock your car until you are near and can insure no one is hiding nearby - if possible, only unlock the necessary doors

11. Briefly check to insure your vehicle is ok and that tires are inflated (some criminals will cause a slow leak in a tire in order to follow and stop with you when your tire goes flat)

12. Get into your car and lock your doors quickly - if you door unlock opens all the doors, hit the door lock button immediately after you open your door to prevent criminals from opening your passenger doors

13. Make sure you are not followed as you leave the show; check your mirrors often for suspicious behavior

14. Vary your driving route if you frequently attend regularly scheduled coin shows

15. Do not stop on the way home unless you can keep your valuables safely with you - not in your vehicle

MOST IMPORTANT, if you take these and other safety precautions and are still threatened for your valuables, give them to the criminals. You can replace things, but an injury, or worse death, would be much more expensive in time and pain than replacing the lost items.

Use these coin show security tips to: Be prepared. Be alert. Be aware. Above all, be safe.

Click on this link:  Coin Show Security Tips Leaving the Show for an Adobe Acrobat version of this article.