Ever had a thief come and visit?

[dicer]

I am from the UK but live in Australia. A former colleague of my husband has recently also moved here with his girlfriend (in her mid-30's) and we have tried to help them since they arrived here. My husband has taken on the friend as his deputy at work.
To cut a long story short, I invited the g'friend over as she was feeling lonely while her partner was at work. Whilst she was at mine I shared some exciting news I'd had that week which was that an old coin I'd found almost 10 yrs ago in the UK was actually of great historic value and was a coin from the reign of king henry viii and had been minted almost 500 years ago. It's not enormously valuable but I showed her the coin and placed it on a ledge in my kitchen. She stayed a few hours and then left. About 30 minutes after she left I noticed that the coin was not where I had placed it.......I know exactly where I put it and I know that she saw me put it there. She was the only person in my house at the time. I lhave ooked high and low just in case it had somehow been knocked off that ledge but I just can't shake the feeling that she has taken it. I asked if she had seen it and she said yes, she'd seen me put it on the ledge. I just want my coin back but how can I accuse her of taking it? Also, with my husband being such good friends with her partner, what is the best course of action to take without causing offence. I would be so grateful for advice on this dilemma folks, it is on my mind all the time. Regards, Di

[Fortune]

The next time you run into this person, remind her about the coin and tell her that you lost it and can't find it anywhere and how much it meant to you and that you now feel terrible for losing it. Watch her reaction.

Bonus points if you mention that you wanted to give her the coin as a present.

If that doesn't help, set her up by leaving another valuable object out. While you step out of the room for a bit, turn on a video camera.

[Holistic Star]

I'm not sure if this would work, but could you call her and tell her that you are really worried about this coin and are convinced that someone has broken in and stolen it.

Could you then invite her to help you look for it, as you have searched the whole house over and just need a second pair of eyes to make sure you haven't missed it because you are upset and as she knows what it looks like she would be of immense help. If she hasn't taken it, then I'm sure she would happily come over to help you look, otherwise if she has then maybe this will give her a chance to miraculously 'find' it down the back of something.

If you really wanted to frighten her you could tell her that once you are convinced it isn't in the house you will have to call the police to report the theft which is why you want to check everywhere in the house first to make sure that it hasn't fallen or been put somewhere.

I agree that it is difficult to outright accuse someone of theft, so be sure that you really believe that if you decide to go down that route.

[belugagirl]

Yes, good tip! Invite her over to help you look, and make sure she sees how upset you are. Maybe she took it in a moment of weakness and feels bad about it. This would give her the opportunity to replace it, "find" it, and save face, too. If she did take it, and she has a conscience, this should get it back to you.

(When I was in primary school, I took a small something from another student in my class. It was a "prize" for some little contest. I justified it to myself, thinking that I was actually entitled to it since the girl had chosen from the bowl out of turn, before me. But afterwards, my conscience got the best of me. Not having the guts to admit what I did, I pretended to look for it in the classroom and "found" it behind a book on the chalkboard. So I can say with confidence that sometimes people do return things if they can do so without having to make an uncomfortable confession!)

I hope you get it back.

[Yynatago]

If she's someone who can't help herself from stealing, then inviting her over to look all over the place isn't the best of ideas, since there's a good chance something else might go missing.

[Michelle]

I am guessing that if she stole it, she won't want to hold onto it. Call, visit or write every coin or pawn shop in your area with a detailed description of the coin. Tell them it has gone missing and you fear it stolen.

If the coin really is so rare, you won't have any trouble finding it and finding out who is responsible should it have really been stolen.

You can also notify EBAY and anywhere else you suspect it could end up.

Good luck to you and let us know!