Chapter 27 - PAWNBROKERS, JUNK DEALERS AND DEALERS IN PRECIOUS METALS AND GEMS#

Footnotes: --- (1) ---

Cross reference— Automobile graveyards, Ch. 8; license tax for junk dealers, § 20-79; license tax for pawnshops, § 20-89; purchase of secondhand building hardware, metal, plumbing fixtures, etc., § 25-32.

State Law reference— Junk and secondhand dealers, Code of Virginia, § 15.2-1114; local ordinances concerning dealers in precious metals and gems, Code of Virginia, § 54.1-4111; pawnbrokers, Code of Virginia, § 54.1 et seq.; regulations relating to pawnbroker descriptions of pawned goods, 19 VAC 30-80-10 et seq.

Sec. 27-1. - Definition.#

For the purpose of this chapter, the word "pawnbroker" shall mean any person who shall, in any manner, lend or advance money or other thing for profit on the pledge and possession of personal property, or other valuable things, other than securities or written or printed evidences of indebtedness, or who deals in the purchasing of personal property or other valuable thing on condition of selling the same back to the seller at a stipulated price.

(Code 1963, § 27-5)

Sec. 27-2. - Display of pawnbroker's license.#

(a) Every person licensed as a pawnbroker shall place such license in some prominent place in his shop where it may be seen by all persons entering such shop.

(b) Any person violating any provision of this section shall be guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor.

(Code 1963, § 27-6)

Sec. 27-3. - Pawnbroker's records; credentials of person pawning or pledging goods.#

(a) Every pawnbroker shall keep at his place of business a book or books, in which shall be clearly written, in English, at the time of each loan or transaction in the course of business, an accurate account of such loan or transaction, setting forth:

(1) A description of the goods, article or thing pawned, pledged or received on account of money loaned thereon;

(2) The time of receiving the same;

(3) The amount of money loaned thereon at the time of pledging the same;

(4) The rate of interest to be paid on such loan;

(5) The name and residence of the person pawning or pledging the goods, article or thing, together with a particular description of such person, the nature of which shall comply with regulations promulgated by the superintendent of state police;

(6) The terms and conditions of the loan, including the period for which any such loan may be made; and

(7) All other facts and circumstances respecting such loan.

Such book provided for in this section shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection of the judges of the criminal courts of the city, the chief of police, police officers, the city sheriff and his deputies, or any other officer with police jurisdiction in and for the city.

(b) Every pawnbroker shall examine, and retain a record of, the identifying credentials of every person pawning or pledging goods. Such credentials shall be of such nature as prescribed by regulations of the superintendent of state police.

(Code 1963, §§ 27-7, 27-8)

Sec. 27-4. - Junk dealer's records.#

(a) Every keeper of a junk shop shall provide and keep a book, in which shall be clearly written at the time of every purchase, a description of the article so purchased, the name and residence of the person from whom such purchase was made and the day and hour of such purchase. Such book shall at all times be open to the inspection of the police.

(b) Any junk dealer who fails or refuses to keep the records of his purchases as provided in this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

(Code 1963, § 27-3)

Sec. 27-5. - Daily reports by junk dealers and pawnbrokers of purchases or pledges.#

(a) Every junk dealer and keeper of a pawnshop shall, each day except Sunday, and on Monday for the preceding Saturday, before 10:00 a.m., report to the chief of police of the city, on blanks to be furnished by him, a list or description of all secondhand articles bought, or on which money or other thing of value is loaned, on the preceding day, or on Saturday if the report be made on Monday. Such report shall include a description of the person from whom received and his name, place of residence and occupation. If there be no such property received, he shall report to that effect, and the word "None" shall be sufficient for this purpose.

(b) Any person violating any provision of this section shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.

(Code 1963, § 27-1)

Sec. 27-6. - Seizure of stolen articles from junk dealers and pawnbrokers.#

The judges of the criminal courts of the city, the chief of police, police officers, the city sheriff and his deputies, or any officer with police jurisdiction in and for the city shall have the right to take and carry away any article which may have been stolen and bought by junk dealers and keepers of pawnshops.

(Code 1963, § 27-2)

ARTICLE II. - DEALERS IN PRECIOUS METALS AND GEMS#

Footnotes: --- (2) ---

Editor's note— Ord. No. 81-11, adopted July 28, 1981, amended Art. IV of the 1963 Code, which had been included as former Art. II of this Code. Former Art. II pertained to similar subject matter, consisted of §§ 27-17—27-23 and 27-29—27-36, and was derived from Ord. No. 80-15, §§ 27-9—27-19, adopted Oct. 14, 1980. The provisions of Ord. No. 81-11 have been included as a new Art. II.

Sec. 27-17. - Definitions.#

For the purposes of this article, the following words and terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:

Dealer. The word "dealer" means any person, firm, partnership, or corporation engaged in the business of purchasing secondhand metals or gems; removing in any manner precious metals or gems from manufactured articles not then owned by such person, firm, partnership, or corporation; or buying, acquiring, or selling precious metals or gems removed from such manufactured articles. "Dealer" shall mean all employers and principals on whose behalf of his employer or principal. This definition shall not be construed so as to include persons engaged in the following:

(1) Purchases of precious metals or gems directly from other dealers, manufacturers, or wholesalers for retail or wholesale inventories, provided the selling dealer has complied with the provisions of this chapter.

(2) Purchases of precious metals or gems from a duly qualified fiduciary who is disposing of the assets of the estate being administered by such fiduciary in the administration of an estate.

(3) Acceptance by a retail merchant of trade-in merchandise previously sold by such retail merchant to the person presenting that merchandise for trade-in.

(4) Repairing, restoring or designing jewelry by a retail merchant, if such activities are within his normal course of business.

(5) Purchases of precious metals or gems by industrial refiners and manufacturers, insofar as such purchases are made directly from retail merchants, wholesalers, dealers, or by mail originating outside the Commonwealth of Virginia.

(6) Persons regularly engaged in the business of purchasing and processing nonprecious scrap metals which incidentally may contain traces of precious metals recoverable as a by-product.

Coin. The word "coin" means any piece of gold, silver or other metal fashioned into a prescribed shape, weight and degree of fineness, stamped by authority of a government with certain marks and devices, and having a certain fixed value as money.

Gems. The word "gems" means any item containing or having any precious or semiprecious stones customarily used in jewelry or ornamentation.

Precious metals. The term "precious metals" means any item containing as part of its composition, in any degree, gold, silver, platinum or pewter.

(Ord. No. 81-11, 7-28-81)

Sec. 27-18. - Information from sellers.#

Dealers shall ascertain the name, address, and age of sellers of precious metals or gems and shall require the seller to verify same by some form of identification issued by a governmental agency, which identification must show, as a part of it, the picture of the person so identified and at least one other corroborating means of identification.

(Ord. No. 81-11, 7-28-81)

Sec. 27-19. - Records, copies of bills of sales required.#

Every dealer shall maintain adequate records to reflect the following information which shall appear on bills of sale, one (1) copy of which is to be retained by the dealer for not less than twenty-four (24) months, one copy to be delivered during regular city work hours to the chief of police within twenty-four (24) hours of the sale, and one copy to be delivered to the seller of such precious metals or gems. If the purchase or loan occurs during a weekend, then the delivery to the chief of police shall be made no later than 10:00 a.m. of the next regular business day. The required information is as follows:

(1) The name of the dealer and his employer or principal, if any.

(2) A complete description of each item purchased, including weight of the precious metals or gems purchased by the dealer, said description to include all names and initials appearing on the item in question.

(3) The name, address, age, sex, race, driver's license number or social security number, and signature of the seller.

(Ord. No. 81-11, 7-28-81)

Sec. 27-20. - Prohibited purchases.#

No dealer shall purchase precious metals or gems from any seller who is under the age of eighteen (18) years. No dealer shall purchase precious metals or gems from anyone whom the dealer believes, or has reason to believe, is not the owner of said precious metals or gems.

(Ord. No. 81-11, 7-28-81)

Sec. 27-21. - Dealer to retain purchases.#

(a) The dealer shall retain all precious metals or gems purchased for a minimum of ten (10) calendar days from the time of filing the bill of sale of their purchase with the chief of police. During said period of time no change shall be made to any item containing precious metals or gems.

(b) When any dealer shall sell, or otherwise cease to retain possession of, any precious metals or gems which were in his possession under conditions governed by this article, he shall maintain for at least twenty-four (24) months a record which shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection by any officer with police jurisdiction in and for the City of Hopewell. Such record shall contain the following required information:

(1) The name of the dealer and his employer or principal if any.

(2) A complete description of each item when it came into the possession of the dealer, as provided in section 27-15 above.

(3) A complete description of any change of any nature made while the item was retained by the dealer.

(4) The name and address of the purchaser or other person coming into possession of the item from the dealer.

(Ord. No. 81-11, 7-28-81)

Sec. 27-22. - Private action on bond or letter of credit.#

If any person shall be aggrieved by the misconduct of any dealer who has violated the provisions of this article, he may maintain an action for recovery in any court of proper jurisdiction against such dealer and his surety, provided that recovery against the surety shall be only for that amount of the judgment, if any, which is unsatisfied by the dealer.

(Ord. No. 81-11, 7-28-81)

Cross reference— Bond required, § 27-33.

Sec. 27-23. - Exclusion from article.#

The provisions of this article shall not apply to the sale or purchase of coins.

(Ord. No. 81-11, 7-28-81)

Sec. 27-24. - Penalty for violation.#

Violation of any provisions of this article shall be a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction therefor, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or a jail term of not more than twelve (12) months, or both.

(Ord. No. 81-11, 7-28-81)

Sec. 27-29. - Required.#

No dealer shall purchase precious metals or gems or make loans for which precious metals or gems are received and held as security without first obtaining a permit from the chief of police, as provided herein, and without complying with all other provisions of this article. Possession of a permit issued in another locality shall not relieve a dealer of the obligation to obtain a permit from the chief of police.

(Ord. No. 80-15, § 27-10, 10-14-80; Ord. No. 81-11, 7-28-81)

Sec. 27-30. - Fees, qualifications of applicant, content of application, term, renewal, inspection of, weighing devices, issuance.#

The permit required herein shall be issued by the chief of police or his designee upon payment of an application fee of two hundred dollars ($200.00) and satisfaction of the requirements herein. The applicant shall be given a permit if he satisfies the chief of police of his good character and he has not been convicted within the past seven (7) years of a felony or crime of moral turpitude. Information required on the application shall include the applicant's full name, aliases, address, age, sex, and fingerprints, and the name, address, and telephone number of the applicant's employer, if any, and the location of the place of business of the dealer. No permit shall be valid for more than twelve (12) months from the date of issuance, but may be renewed in the same manner as the initial permit is obtained with an annual permit fee of two hundred dollars ($200.00). Before a permit may be issued, the dealer must have all weighing devices used in his business inspected and approved by state weights and measures officials and present written evidence of such approval to the chief of police.

(Ord. No. 81-11, 7-28-81)

Sec. 27-31. - Nontransferability; display.#

The permit issued hereunder shall be a personal privilege and shall not be transferable, nor shall there be any abatement of the fee for such permit by reason of the fact that the dealer shall have exercised the privilege for any period of time less than for which it was granted. The permit shall at all times be displayed prominently by the dealer on his business premises.

(Ord. No. 81-11, 7-28-81)

Sec. 27-32. - False statements.#

Any false statement made on the application form voids the permit ab initio.

(Ord. No. 81-11, 7-28-81)

Sec. 27-33. - Bond required.#

Prior to receiving his application, every dealer shall enter a bond with either a corporate surety authorized to do business in the Commonwealth of Virginia, said bond to be payable to the city in the penal sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), and conditioned upon due observance of the terms of this article. In lieu of posting said bond, the dealer may post cash or a letter of credit from a recognized financial institution whose terms are satisfactory to the chief of police.

(Ord. No. 81-11, 7-28-81)