Swiss Man Reports 12.5m Music Collection Theft in Hua Hin

41 minutes ago, BusyB said:

I know someone who makes a comfortable living selling vinyl records.

He posts his phone number on supermarket and pub etc. noticeboards that he buys old records cash. Picks them up often by the loadful from people who have no idea what they're worth, or from house clearances. Sells them on flea markets. Knows what's what and has good regular collector customers.

They can be worth hundreds (euros not baht) if you know your stuff. You know what the collectors have asked about so you also know what to keep your eyes open for and which leads to follow. The rest is largely chaff but also sells quite well.

Yeah people think that cause their Wham record collection is worthless think all are.

Very deluded people as some/many record are worth decent coin

2 hours ago, Noradonis said:

12.5 million baht???

$400k USD???

1000 vinyl & CD's???

That means an average of $400 for each vinyl & CD???

What am I missing here?

more than 1,000 vinyl records and 400 CDs

not 1000 , is what you missed 😄

Given the stated value, these must all have been “golden records”!

Sounds strange all around:

1. To get to a 13.5mil THB value it'd have to be thousands of records weighing hundreds of kilograms. Nobody is carrying that away in plastic bags on a motorcycle.

2. Even at 1000 records they'd each have to be worth 13.5k THB to make up that sum

More likely is that it was a smaller collection worth much less, except maybe sentimental value.

During Covid, I was back in California and I had a chance to sell all my vinyl that I had collected over the years of working in record stores and radio stations. I used EBAY and Discogs to value them. The best price I got was $90 each for some old late 60s and early 70s rare rock LPs. Has to be first pressing and in near mint condition to warrant high valuations. Jacket and inner sleeve condition are also important factors in pricing. To have an entire collection of 1,000 LPs each valued at $250+ is very suspect. I did see some obscure LPs going for $300-450 but that was the exception, not the norm.

6 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

He is going to be very disappointed when he finds out that his valuable asset is worth nothing.

actually he should be happy.

22 hours ago, save the frogs said:

property insurance

install cameras

I don't think the insurance would pay anything for sentimental value.

7 hours ago, Cory1848 said:

Exactly; I wouldn't value used records or CDs at more than US$10 max, so maybe THB 500,000 for the lot. Unless he had a LOT of really rare items, as you suggest.

only a musiclover like himself would value the lot at such a steep price! i understand though, it took him a long time to build up, lots of emotion/sentiment etc.

so to him it is that value. i hope that he still can claim some...

Regardless of what he thinks the records are worth it wouldn't normally be the first choice for an opportunistic thief who needs fast money, the cd's wouldn't be worth much , the vinyl might be but not easy to sell here ,

Personally I would be very surprised if the wife wasn't involved.

8 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

1000pcs of vinyl is gunna be more than a few plastic bags!

and more than one trip on a motorbike but if he's bed-ridden the theft could have taken place over days , The mrs is favorite , in conjunction with the "caregiver"

54 minutes ago, Ray60 said:

I don't think the insurance would pay anything for sentimental value.

probably won't pay for anything without receipts

3 hours ago, BusyB said:

I know someone who makes a comfortable living selling vinyl records.

He posts his phone number on supermarket and pub etc. noticeboards that he buys old records cash. Picks them up often by the loadful from people who have no idea what they're worth, or from house clearances. Sells them on flea markets. Knows what's what and has good regular collector customers.

They can be worth hundreds (euros not baht) if you know your stuff. You know what the collectors have asked about so you also know what to keep your eyes open for and which leads to follow. The rest is largely chaff but also sells quite well.

indeed, some people do, but as you said. they need to know what they are about, its highly unlikely a Thai "caregiver" would possess such knowledge or how to sell them, HIs mrs might though as might some of his friends

23 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

A bedridden Swiss man has appealed for public help after a vinyl and CD collection valued at more than 12.5 million baht disappeared from his home in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan, with a former Thai caregiver now suspected

12.5M thb? As if!

Your Perry Como and Don Ho records ain't what the kids are listening to nowadays

Like the Drive By Truckers

Or that hippity hoppity music where they start playing a good song then some guy starts talking over it ruining the vibe.

Fun Fact: During WW2, the Swiss purchased looted gold from some really swell fellows over in Germany who just "found" it laying around or something I guess we will never know 😆

A bit of jealousy in various comments towards the victim.

21 minutes ago, SiSePuede419 said:

12.5M thb? As if!

Your Perry Como and Don Ho records ain't what the kids are listening to nowadays

Like the Drive By Truckers

Or that hippity hoppity music where they start playing a good song then some guy starts talking over it ruining the vibe.

Fun Fact: During WW2, the Swiss purchased looted gold from some really swell fellows over in Germany who just "found" it laying around or something I guess we will never know 😆

Your fun fact is completely incorrect, entirely misleading, and has no relevance to the content of this article.

Tell me, what is so funny about it? How has this anything to do with Swiss Man Reports 12.5m Music Collection Theft in Hua Hin???

Please enlighten me.

5 minutes ago, Sigmund said:

A bit of jealousy in various comments towards the victim.

I think in view of what he gives as a value, it is more like schadenfreude.

As Sherlock Holms would have said...investigate if the wife had or had not anything to do with the theft ?

I feel your pain.

7 hours ago, ronster said:

Value is way off surely unless he has multiple rare vinyl copies , CDs are not worth anything really and even rare ones would have to be very limited edition or signed by the artist in single digit numbers .

Many don't realize their worth and that there is still a market, especially for collectors like myself. From AI................Music CDs typically range from $0.25 to $5.00 each for common titles, but rare, promotional, or out-of-print albums can fetch anywhere from $50 to over $1,000. While casual listening shifted heavily toward streaming, a growing collector market exists for specific silver discs

5 hours ago, Noradonis said:

12.5 million baht???

$400k USD???

1000 vinyl & CD's???

That means an average of $400 for each vinyl & CD???

What am I missing here?

I think you are missing insurance scam.

57 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

indeed, some people do, but as you said. they need to know what they are about, its highly unlikely a Thai "caregiver" would possess such knowledge or how to sell them, HIs mrs might though as might some of his friends

First record I ever bought aged 15 was Jimi Hendrix' Electric Ladyland Part II.

I wouldn't part with it for anything. Maybe.

48 minutes ago, Sigmund said:

A bit of jealousy in various comments towards the victim.

hardly jealous, the guys bedridden in case you hadn't noticed

8 minutes ago, BusyB said:

First record I ever bought aged 15 was Jimi Hendrix' Electric Ladyland Part II.

I wouldn't part with it for anything. Maybe.

the first I ever bought was Ernie the milkman by benny hill, I'm open to offers

9 hours ago, Purdey said:

I have a collection of vinyl records but playing them is difficult as the heat stretches the rubber turntable band.

There is a lot of heartache when they are there but unplayed. I guess seeing someone walking off with them feels worse.

Hence CDs but now flacs do not need a rubber band, do not scratch or rumble, easy to store and store on t'Cloud for safety.

23 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Strange theft without insurance claim. To whom would anybody sell these???

Plenty of specialist shops sell them. Go to that famous computer IT sales building in central bkk. They have many shops selling records and CDs

15 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

hardly jealous, the guys bedridden in case you hadn't noticed

yes, I wish I was bed ridden instead of visiting soi 6 pattaya tonight

1 minute ago, advancebooking said:

Plenty of specialist shops sell them. Go to that famous computer IT sales building in central bkk. They have many shops selling records and CDs

But look for the shop specialising in Yodelling music. 5555

12.5 million baht? No way, unless every item is pressed on pure 24ct gold! 🙄

I have a collection of around 50% of what he claims went missing, mostly 12" vinyl imports, where a lot of the value is, alongside rare, first pressings...

My collection, if very lucky, would be worth £500...

27 minutes ago, BusyB said:

First record I ever bought aged 15 was Jimi Hendrix' Electric Ladyland Part II.

I wouldn't part with it for anything. Maybe.

No, no, BusyB. No maybe. How could you ever conceive of selling such a classic?

When I moved to Thailand in 1992 I left all my LPs in my sister's loft, quite a few classics of late 60s, early 70s.

Some of the LP covers were great, one of the Welsh band Man's inside opened out into a glorious map of Wales and the hometowns of the band's members.

The trouble was LP covers were the perfect size and depth for rolling out herbal medicinal products of the time with the results they lost their shiny new look, as did the records with constant playing, and occasional lifting of the needle to catch that track/ riff again.

And now we can listen to all that music free on YouTube, incredible really.

On 6/5/2026 at 10:55 AM, Georgealbert said:

A bedridden Swiss man has appealed for public help after a vinyl and CD collection valued at more than 12.5 million baht disappeared from his home in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan, with a former Thai caregiver now suspected. Peter Kalt reported that more than 1,000 vinyl records and 400 CDs went missing from a storage room at his property in the Hin Lek Fai subdistrict. He believes the disappearance may have involved someone known to the household.

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The incident is believed to have taken place on May 2, when Kalt’s wife, Brigit, was away from the home attending a massage appointment. Kalt was alone at the residence at the time but said his medical condition left him bedridden and unable to monitor activity around the property. The couple discovered the missing items and filed a theft complaint with police on May 5.

According to Kalt, the collection was built over decades while he lived and worked in Chicago and Switzerland. He estimated its value at around 300,000 Swiss francs, equivalent to approximately 12.5 million baht, though he said the sentimental value of the items was even greater due to their personal significance and rarity.

Police visited the property following the complaint and examined the scene. Investigators also reviewed security camera footage from outside the home. Kalt stated that the footage showed a former female caregiver leaving the property on a motorcycle carrying plastic bags, which officers considered suspicious. He added that police said they knew the identity of the individual seen in the footage.

Kalt said the caregiver had previously been employed through a local nursing company and had experienced financial difficulties. He also claimed she had asked him and his wife for money on several occasions prior to the incident. Despite this, he said he has received no further updates from investigators and is unaware of any new developments in the case.

Frustrated by the lack of progress, Kalt contacted Hua Hin Today on 3 June, to raise public awareness and request assistance in locating the missing collection. He is urging residents, expats and record collectors in Hua Hin to report any attempts to sell rare music collections or unusual large archives of vinyl records and CDs that may match the description.

Wochenblitz reported that he plans to return to Switzerland long-term due to leg complaints, where he expects better treatment. Peter Kalthas lived in Thailand for 11 years and is bedridden and requires care due to a medical complication. He hopes that information will lead to the recovery of his collection and the apprehension of the perpetrator

Picture courtesy of Wochenblitz

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Adapted by ASEAN Now Wochenblitz 5 June 2026

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Sounds like an insurance scam to me. Got be an inside job.

17 minutes ago, bannork said:

No, no, BusyB. No maybe. How could you ever conceive of selling such a classic?

When I moved to Thailand in 1992 I left all my LPs in my sister's loft, quite a few classics of late 60s, early 70s.

Some of the LP covers were great, one of the Welsh band Man's inside opened out into a glorious map of Wales and the hometowns of the band's members.

The trouble was LP covers were the perfect size and depth for rolling out herbal medicinal products of the time with the results they lost their shiny new look, as did the records with constant playing, and occasional lifting of the needle to catch that track/ riff again.

And now we can listen to all that music free on YouTube, incredible really.

Well, nobody's made an offer yet - my mate doesn't know I've got it. I tend to be tight lipped about my collection with him 555

And yes, LP covers were works of art in themselves. That was the main downside of CDs, even if they did start to include pamphlets.

I can remember the first time I heard CD, at the IFA Radio and TV Expo in Berlin, in I think 85. I knew instantly that vinyl was as good as dead.

I mainly use Apple Music nowadays. Oh, and YouTube of course. Some real gems there as well.