Redwood City PD search for owner of rare Asian coins found in stolen car

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- For police, the likelihood of matching stolen property to the rightful owner is often times very slim. So Redwood City police are trying to find the owner of some rare coins with the help of social media.

Police posted a picture of the vintage silver coins to their Pinterest page, hoping someone will come forward. There were several coins recovered from the car of a man arrested by Redwood City police for burglary last November. The suspect has ties to San Francisco, but it is unknown where the coins were stolen.

"There's Chinese coins and Japanese coins, and the Chinese coins appear to be from the early 1900's," Redwood City police Officer David Stahler said.

A 1903 silver dragon dollar, from the Qing Dynasty, is now worth about $300 and another coin is an 1870 Japanese yen worth about $700 dollars. All of them are sitting in the evidence room.

"These items tend to just sit there and collect dust," Stahler said.

"I think most people assume that that's it. It's gone," Pinterest user Timan Goshit said.

That's why Stahler created a virtual evidence room on Pinterest, which is accessible to anyone with a computer or smartphone.

The Redwood City Police Department will also post lost or stolen property that surrounding agencies share with them. Such as a stolen wedding ring that police confiscated in Mountain View.

"And we put the picture of this ring on our website and a man in Redwood City called immediately and recognized it as his wedding ring," Stahler said.

It's up to the rightful owner to give specific information about their property. A previous police report is also helpful. As for the coins, no one has claimed them yet, but police believe it is only a matter of time.