Fake $50 gold coin used in purchase, suspect at Large

The gold-colored coin, featuring two eagles and inscribed with the words “1 OZ. FINE GOLD — 50 DOLLARS,” was used to purchase $25 worth of merchandise on Feb. 21 from the Casey’s General Store on 111th Street, said Capt. Kent Knopf with the Urbandale Police Department.
Urbandale police have as evidence a counterfeit $50 coin used to make a purchase at an Urbandale gas station in February 2019. Photo provided by the Urbandale Police Department.
The suspect then received $25 in change back from the cashier, Knopf said. An employee from the gas station was told the coin was fake after taking the piece to a coin shop the next day, he said.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” he said, adding that counterfeit paper money is typically much more common.
The suspect was last seen driving a blue Dodge Dart, police said in a news release. The department asks anyone with information on the man to email Detective Andy Morlan at amorlan@urbandale.org.
“It’s unusual that someone would try to pass a fake coin,” said Knopf, who added that some people would do anything to avoid paying.
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