The thieves robbed the armored Brink’s truck around 2am on July 11 at a Flying J truck stop along Interstate 5 near Grapevine – an unincorporated community in the San Joaquin Valley – in just 27 minutes. Initial estimates indicated $100 million worth of jewels were taken, despite the truck only having been insured for less than $10 million. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau Sgt. It is a huge amount of money,’ MIleski stated. It was heading to the Pasadena Convention Center. The merchandise had been loaded onto the truck the night before following an exhibit hosted by the International Gem and Jewelry Show in San Mateo, south of San Francisco. He also noted from the outside it wouldn’t have appeared the truck was carrying riches, but guards openly carrying firearms while driving the vehicle could have tipped off a watcher-by. The merchandise had been loaded onto a Brink’s truck (file photo) the night before following an exhibit hosted by the International Gem and Jewelry Show in San Mateo, south of San Francisco. The group of thieves then quickly broke into the truck, entered its tractor-trailer and started unloading containers holding jewelry, gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds and lots of luxury designer watches, including Rolexes. FBI agents and major crimes investigators at the sheriff’s office have searched the Flying J for clues, interviewed potential witnesses and reviewed security footage from the truck stop. We are talking multi millions here. International Gem and Jewelry Show president Arnold Duke revealed the truck was transporting many 70 to 100-pound storage containers housing gems and jewelry. Police are still probing how the thieves got into the truck and whether or not they knew about its valuable contents ahead of the theft. The burglars managed to bypass the truck’s locking mechanism undetected and then loaded the gems into storage containers before hauling them away, law enforcement sources allege. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau Sgt.

California is also the top state for cargo snatches.

Previous reports indicated the thieves took between 25 and 30 bags, containing an unknown number of individual pieces. Officials, who have stated the thieves likely tracked the truck from San Mateo, are probing everyone with knowledge of the route. We are looking at more than $100 million in documented losses,’ Duke said. Although the loss was massive, Duke noted the thieves did not manage to take all the valuables from the truck. One of the largest jewelry heists ever. California is also the top state for cargo snatches. This was an absolutely huge crime. These are small businesses with their entire wealth vested in that truck. The vehicle is also driven by armed guards and its exact route is kept secret. That’s where the discrepancy comes in. Flying J’s parent company has requested surveillance video from the travel center – which is open 24/7 – in attempt to help law enforcement with their investigation. Cargo theft is a ‘massive criminal enterprise’ in the Los Angeles area and, last year alone, saw more than $57 million in cargo truck thefts. Brandy Swanson, the exhibition’s director, explained shortly after the theft that even though their jewels are quite expensive, most vendors who travel between jewelry shows typically underinsure their merchandise because they can’t afford to insure it fully. He also claimed merchandise is typically transported in a semi with a bulletproof cab, equipped with tracking and elaborate camera systems. Duke wouldn’t discuss security measures at the show, but did note that all people are photographed as they enter the facility. These are mom-and-pop operators,’ Swanson said. 10 million in merchandise.

Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. The Hanseatic League was officially active in the London trade from 1266 to 1597. This etymology may have been first suggested by Walter de Pinchebek (c. The word in origin refers to the newly introduced Norman silver penny. Byzantine solidus, originally known as the solidus aureus meaning ‘solid gold‘ or ‘reliable gold’. Because the League’s money was not frequently debased like that of England, English traders stipulated to be paid in pounds of the Easterlings, which was contracted to sterling. Fine silver, which is 99.9% pure silver, is relatively soft, so silver is usually alloyed with copper to increase its hardness and strength. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the most plausible etymology is a derivation from a late Old English steorling (with, or like, a ‘little star’), as some early Norman pennies were imprinted with a small star. Another argument is that the Hanseatic League was the source for both the origin of its definition and manufacture, and in its name is that the German name for the Baltic is Ostsee, or ‘East Sea’, and from this the Baltic merchants were called “Osterlings”, or “Easterlings”. The claim has been made in Henry Spelman’s glossary (Glossarium Archaiologicum) as referenced in Commentaries on the Laws of England by William Blackstone. One of the earliest attestations of the term is in Old French form esterlin, in a charter of the abbey of Les Préaux, dating to either 1085 or 1104. The English chronicler Orderic Vitalis (1075 – c. The British numismatist Philip Grierson disagrees with the “star” etymology, as the stars appeared on Norman pennies only for the single three-year issue from 1077 to 1080 (the Normans changed coin designs every three years). By 1854, the tie between Easterling and Sterling was well-established, as Ronald Zupko quotes in his dictionary of weights. In support of this he cites the fact that one of the first acts of the Normans was to restore the coinage to the consistent weight and purity it had in the days of Offa, King of Mercia. Recent examples of these alloys include argentium, sterlium and silvadium. In 1260, Henry III granted them a charter of protection. Such elements include germanium, zinc, platinum, silicon, and boron. 1300) with the explanation that the coin was originally made by moneyers from that region. 1142) uses the Latin forms libræ sterilensium and libræ sterilensis monetæ. Their Kontor, the Steelyard of London, was called Easterlings Hall, or Esterlingeshalle.

This would have been perceived as a contrast to the progressive debasement of the intervening 200 years, and would therefore be a likely source for a nickname. Between 1634 and 1776, some 500 silversmiths created items in the “New World” ranging from simple buckles to ornate Rococo coffee pots. 3⁄4 pennyweights of alloy, with 20 pennyweights to the troy ounce. In Colonial America, sterling silver was used for currency and general goods as well. Stamping each of their pieces with their personal maker’s mark, colonial silversmiths relied upon their own status to guarantee the quality and composition of their products. 12th century in the area that is now northern Germany. REX (“King Henry”) but this was added later, in the reign of Henry III. Colonial silversmiths used many of the techniques developed by those in Europe. Casting was frequently the first step in manufacturing silver pieces, as silver workers would melt down sterling silver into easily manageable ingots. Although silversmiths of this era were typically familiar with all precious metals, they primarily worked in sterling silver. The colonies lacked an assay office during this time (the first would be established in 1814), so American silversmiths adhered to the standard set by the London Goldsmiths Company: sterling silver consisted of 91.5-92.5% by weight silver and 8.5-7.5 wt% copper. A piece of sterling silver dating from Henry II’s reign was used as a standard in the Trial of the Pyx until it was deposited at the Royal Mint in 1843. It bears the royal stamp ENRI.