LEXINGTON (CBS) – Lexington police have a very sophisticated thief on their hands, one who has some knowledge of rare coins.

On Monday, a well-dressed young man came into the Lexington Coin shop, asking about some rare, gold coins.

He and the owner came to an agreement on the price, and the young man handed the owner what appeared to be a money order from a legitimate local bank – $4,600 worth.

So the man took his new coins and left but it wasn’t until several days later that the check bounced.

“It bothers me that it was real fraud, and well-planned, ” said owner Eric Carlson.

Carslon has been in business for 32 years, and has seen all kinds of scams and counterfeit money.

But this check look legit, even down to the routing codes. And the thief must have planned it for some days.

“He came in a week earlier with some coins of his own, asking the value of them. Then, when he came back Monday, asking for similar coins to buy, I thought he was for real,” said Carlson.

And adding insult to injury, when Carlson turned his back to examine the money order, the thief slid a box of coins into his briefcase.