Facts
On 12 January 1964, Schiesser entered the room of an innkeeper and stole a gold ring, a gold chain worth approximately 300 Swiss francs, and a German coin. The chain also contained a Swiss gold coin of 20 francs that Schiesser resold the next day to the Cantonal Bank of Grisons in Landquart for 39 francs. The Cantonal Court of Grisons found Schiesser guilty of theft and fraud and sentenced him to a suspended prison term of one month. Schiesser appealed the conviction for fraud, but his appeal was rejected by the SCC.Considerations
The SCC considered that the established case law in ATF 72 IV 9, according to which a person is punishable for both theft and fraud when they steal an object and then sell it to a bona fide third party, also applies in the present case. Although Swiss gold coins of 20 francs are no longer a legal means of payment, they cannot be equated to money within the meaning of Art. 935 CC, which protects the bona fide holder. The Cantonal Bank, therefore, did not acquire ownership of the stolen gold coin and suffered a loss, as it paid a price for a good encumbered by a third-party right. Even if the coin had been mixed with other identical coins, making its…