Celtic Gold Coins Worth ‘Several Million Euros’ Go Missing From German Museum

This isn’t Money Heist, but in an unprecedented break-in, thieves managed to haul away hundreds of golden Celtic coins from a German museum, with officials labeling the movie-esque situation a tragedy and disaster. 

The robbery, which took place at the Celtic and Roman Museum in Manching, Bavaria, saw 483 coins stolen from its collection, which, as per The Guardian, local police have estimated as being worth “several million euros.” 

It seems the group behind the heist spared no expense in making sure the operation went off without a hitch, even going so far as to cut off telephone service and internet connection for the entire city, so no one could contact the police while the event was underway. 

According to ARTnews, the stolen artifacts were discovered during an excavation of an archaeological town near Manching in 1999, and are believed to have belonged to the third century BCE. Markus Blume, Bavaria’s Minister of Science and Arts, tells German news agency DPA that the gold coins were “irreplaceable.”

At the moment, the museum has announced it will “remain closed for the time being” while investigations are ongoing. Other high-profile robberies have occurred in the country in 2017 and 2019, when the world’s second-largest gold coin and 21 pieces of precious jewels were stolen.

[via ARTnews and The Guardian, cover image via Gunjan Karun | Dreamstime.com]