Article 16. Purchasers of Valuable Articles

The general assembly hereby finds and determines that illicit traffic in stolen valuable articles is encouraged by the absence of any required record-keeping system by persons purchasing such valuable articles. The general assembly further finds that law enforcement officials are hindered in the identification and recovery of stolen valuable articles, and that law enforcement officials are hindered in the discovery and identification of persons selling stolen valuable articles due to the absence of such a required record-keeping system. Accordingly, it is the intent of the general assembly, by enacting this article, to aid law enforcement officials in the discovery and identification of sellers of stolen valuable articles and in the identification and recovery of stolen valuable articles by providing a mandatory record-keeping and reporting system by purchasers and by providing a holding period during which time such articles shall not be disposed of or altered in any manner. Local governments may adopt ordinances more strict than the provisions of this article.

As used in this article 16, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) “Local law enforcement agency” means any marshal’s office, police department, or sheriff’s office with jurisdiction in the locality in which the purchaser makes the purchase.
(2) “Peace officer” means any undersheriff, deputy sheriff other than one appointed with authority only to receive and serve summonses and civil process, police officer, state patrol officer, town marshal, or investigator for a district attorney or the attorney general who is engaged in full-time employment by the state, a city, city and county, town, judicial district, or county within this state.
(3) “Precious or semiprecious metals or stones” means such metals as, but not limited to, gold, silver, platinum, and pewter and such stones as, but not limited to, alexandrite, diamonds, emeralds, garnets, opals, rubies, sapphires, and topaz. For the purposes of this article, ivory, coral, pearls, jade, and such other minerals, stones, or gems as are customarily regarded as precious or semiprecious are deemed to be precious or semiprecious stones.
(4) “Purchase” means giving money to acquire any valuable article, taking valuable articles in full or part satisfaction of a debt, taking valuable articles for resale for the purpose of full or part satisfaction of a debt, or taking valuable articles for sale on consignment.
(5) “Purchaser” means any person holding himself out to the public as being engaged in the business of buying valuable articles or any person who purchases five or more valuable articles during any thirty-day period. “Purchaser” does not include a person purchasing valuable articles from an estate or from a retail or wholesale merchant.
(6) “Seller” means any person offering a valuable article for money to any purchaser, offering a valuable article in full or part satisfaction of a debt, or offering a valuable article for resale for the purpose of full or part satisfaction of a debt.
(7)
(a) “Valuable article” means any tangible personal property consisting, in whole or in part, of precious or semiprecious metals or stones, whether solid, plated, or overlaid, including, but not limited to, household goods, jewelry, United States commemorative medals or tokens, and gold and silver bullion.
(b) “Valuable article” shall also include foreign currency when purchased for more than its face value or foreign currency exchange value.
(c) “Valuable article” also includes a store credit, gift card, or merchandise card of any value not issued by the person.

(1) No purchaser shall purchase any valuable article without first securing adequate identification from the seller. The type and kind of identification shall be limited to the following:
(a) A valid Colorado driver’s license;
(b) An identification card issued in accordance with section 42-2-302, C.R.S.;
(c) A valid driver’s license, containing a picture, issued by another state;
(d) A military identification card;
(e) A valid passport;
(f) An alien registration card; or
(g) A nonpicture identification document issued by a state or federal government entity if the purchaser also obtains a clear imprint of the seller’s right index finger.

No purchaser shall purchase any valuable article from any person under the age of eighteen years.

(1) Every purchaser of valuable articles shall keep a register, in a permanent, well-bound book, in which he shall record the following information: The name, address, and date of birth of the seller and his driver’s license number or other I.D. number from any other allowed form of identification pursuant to section 18-16-103; the date, time, and place of the purchase; an accurate and detailed account and description of each valuable article being purchased, including, but not limited to, any trademark, identification number, serial number, model number, brand name, or other identifying marks on such articles and a description by weight and design of such articles. The purchaser shall also obtain a written declaration of the seller’s ownership which shall state whether the valuable article is totally owned by the seller, how long the seller has owned the article, whether the seller or someone else found the article, and, if the article was found, the details of its finding.
(2) The seller shall sign his name in such register and on the declaration of ownership.
(3) Such register shall be made available to any peace officer for inspection at any reasonable time.
(4) The purchaser shall keep each register for at least three years after the last date of purchase of valuable articles described therein.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a purchaser shall hold all valuable articles within the jurisdiction of purchase for a period of thirty days from the date of purchase, during which time the valuable articles shall be held separate and apart from any other transaction and shall not be changed in form or altered in any way. The purchaser shall permit any requesting law enforcement officer to inspect the valuable articles during the thirty-day period.
(2) Stamped and assayed gold and silver bullion and gold coins shall not be subject to the holding requirement imposed by subsection (1) of this section. In lieu of such requirement, the purchaser shall be required to record the identity of any person to whom he transfers any such bullion or coins and the date, time, and place of such transfer.

(1) Every purchaser of valuable articles shall provide the local law enforcement agency, on a weekly basis, with two records, on a form to be provided by the local law enforcement agency, of all valuable articles purchased during the preceding week and one copy of the seller’s declaration of ownership. The form for recording such purchases shall contain the information required to be recorded in the purchaser’s register pursuant to section 18-16-105 and shall also include a physical description of the seller and the dollar amount of the purchase. Said form shall be signed, at the time of the purchase, by the seller and by the individual purchaser or his agent who participated in the purchase. The local law enforcement agency shall designate the day of the week on which the records and declarations shall be submitted.
(2) A copy of such record and the seller’s declaration of ownership shall also be forwarded to the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction in the area where the seller resides.
(3) The local law enforcement agency shall forward copies of such records and declarations of sellers’ ownership, upon request, to any other law enforcement agency.

Any person who violates any of the provisions of this article commits a class 6 felony. Any person who knowingly gives false information with respect to the information required by sections 18-16-103 and 18-16-105 commits a class 6 felony.

The provisions of this article shall not apply to private collectors purchasing collectors’ items from other private collectors or businesses engaged in selling valuable articles exclusively as collectors’ items, and who pay for such purchases by check, nor shall the provisions of sections 18-16-101 to 18-16-108 apply to valuable articles purchased exclusively in interstate commerce and paid for by check mailed to the seller in another state, if a record of the check by which payment was made and the name and address of the seller is maintained for a period of three years, or a retail merchant who, in a retail transaction involving the sale of a valuable article, receives another valuable article as a trade-in and credits the retail purchaser with the value thereof if the retail purchaser provides proof satisfactory to the retailer that the valuable article was originally purchased from that retailer. For the purpose of this section, a “private collector” is an individual, business, or corporation who purchases an item for a price based on the value of the article as a historical item rather than the prevailing market price of the item’s metallic or stone composition; who has an interest in preserving the item in its unique or historical form and who does not alter the form of the article; and whose primary purpose is to keep the article in a collection or to sell to another collector.

If any provision of this article or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions of this article which may be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and, to this end, the provisions of this article are declared to be severable.