Washington Metro Police are investigating a home burglary and theft that occurred between July 22 and August 1 involving a collection of silver and jewelry valued at more than $100,000.
The homeowner, an antiques collector, is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to the location and return of items of silver and jewelry burglarized from his home on Westminster Street NW.
The result of a 30-year effort to collect representative examples of American sterling silver flatware between the mid-Eighteenth Century and the turn of the Nineteenth Century, the collection was painstakingly assembled by the collector, who told News Channel 8, “Each and every one of these pieces was selected. I took a great deal of time searching them out.”
Among the more than 200 pieces that were stolen, the most rare item is a pair of Gorham large sterling ice or chicken tongs in the Lady’s pattern, circa 1860, featuring a different single monogram in old English initial on each disc. A Gorham pierced wine coaster with pierced four mask designs and loose wooden insert, along with hundreds of rare spoons, forks, knives, ladles, servers, tongs and spreaders, were taken.
The police report noted the forced entry through a window on the second floor involved the flatware collection along with a computer, television sets and other personal belongings. Also stolen was a lady’s white gold filigree diamond ring set with three horizontally aligned diamonds weighing approximately 1 carat each. A Victorian yellow gold and bloodstone gentleman’s watch fob with the initials “FTC” raised in gold was also taken.
Anyone having information regarding this theft is asked to contact lead investigator Detective Sergeant Fulvia Brooks, Third District, Metropolitan Police Department, at 202-671-6653 or 202-607-0018 (cell). The complaint number is 09109238.
