They stole 2,100-year-old Celtic coins made of Bohemian river gold and melted them down

Four suspects have been arrested following the shocking theft of the largest Celtic gold hoard of the 20th century. They were to steal 483 Celtic gold coins dating back to 100 BC from the Celtic-Roman Museum in Manching, Bavaria. One of the perpetrators was carrying 18 gold bars in a plastic bag when he was arrested. It has now been confirmed that their composition exactly matches the Celtic coins.

The treasure was discovered in 1999 at the site of a Celtic settlement in present-day Manching. It was placed in a sack under the foundations of an ancient building. Analysis of the coins revealed that the source of the metal was not local; it came from Bohemian river gold. The hoard was the largest find of Celtic gold in the 20th century. It has been on permanent display since 2006 and has become a major museum attraction. The estimated market value of the coins exceeds 39 million crowns. The value of the gold alone, at a weight of 3.7 kilograms at the time of the robbery, was about 6 million crowns. The archaeological significance of the treasure is incalculable.

Micro-x-ray fluorescence analysis of the ingots confirmed the match with the gold in the Celtic coins. Each ingot was made from 4 coins, and at least 70 were melted down. Perhaps the good news might be the assumption that most of the coins are still hidden somewhere and not yet destroyed: "We know that about 70 gold coins have apparently been irretrievably lost in their cultural and historical significance," said Bavarian State Minister of Culture Markus Blume. "But this means that there is of course still hope that we will be able to find the rest of the gold coins and thus most of the gold treasure," he added. However, the thieves have remained silent and refuse to give investigators any information.

The theft was carefully planned and executed in just nine minutes. 22. November 2022, at 1:17 a.m., fiber optic lines were severed at a telecommunications hub near the museum, after which internet and phone service to the museum and 13,000 other users in the area were disrupted. With the museum's security system deactivated, thieves broke in through an emergency exit. At 1:26 a.m., they broke the bulletproof security glass protecting the coin display and by 1:33 a.m., they were out with their loot.

Investigators from the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (BLKA) thoroughly searched the area the museum and found two crowbars, garden shears, wire cutters and a radio antenna. DNA traces linked the theft to eight others like it in Germany and Austria. Months of dogged searching tracked the suspects to northern Germany, and the Ingolstadt prosecutor's office issued arrest warrants for them. A large amount of burglary equipment was found during searches of 28 apartments, businesses, garden plots, a shipyard and vehicles.

One of the gang members is a telecommunications engineer, another is an accountant, a third is a shop manager and the last is an employee of a demolition company. Evidence links all four suspects to eleven other thefts. They would rob supermarkets, a casino, a gas station and an ATM. The museum was the first place where they stole national cultural heritage, but they apparently planned to rob other museums as well. Investigators found that the suspects had rented various vehicles over time and parked them near museums in Frankfurt, Idar-Oberstein, Trier and Pforzheim.

The suspects have not provided any information since their arrest. Authorities are searching for any surviving coins in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where three of the four arrested lived. The search will also focus on their other areas of operation.

Roman Nemec

Sources: apnews.com, thehistoryblog.com, nypost.com

Damaged security glass

Police searching for clues to the robbery

Gold coins for comparison at police press conference

Celtic gold treasure before it was stolen from a museum