28 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

483 Celtic gold coins worth several million euros stolen from German museum

A huge horde of ancient gold coins dating back to 100 BC was stolen from the Celtic and Roman Museum in Manching, 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Munich, early Tuesday.

Bavarian state police said employees at the museum in Manching discovered on Tuesday that a “showcase was broken” and the collection of 483 coins had been stolen.

Investigators did not provide any additional information about the heist’s circumstances, but local officials highlighted a disruption in phone and internet service.

The 483 coins were discovered in 1999 during excavations of an ancient settlement in Manchning and are considered the biggest trove of Celtic gold found in the 20th century.

The Celtic-Roman Museum is pictured in the evening light, in Manching, Germany, Tuesday Nov. 22, 2022. A huge horde of ancient gold coins dating back to around 100 B.C. has been stolen from Manching museum in southern Germany, police said Tuesday. Photo: Armin Weigel/DPA
The Celtic-Roman Museum is pictured in the evening light, in Manching, Germany, Tuesday Nov. 22, 2022. A huge horde of ancient gold coins dating back to around 100 B.C. has been stolen from Manching museum in southern Germany, police said Tuesday. Photo: Armin Weigel/DPA

The German news agency DPA reported that authorities estimate the value of the coins, which together weighed about 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds), at several million euros (dollars).

“The loss of the Celtic treasure is a disaster,” Bavaria’s minister of science and arts, Markus Blume. “As a testament to our history, the gold coins are irreplaceable.”

According to the police, thieves of the Manching gold treasure would likely have a hard time selling their Celtic coins. A spokesperson for the State Criminal Police Office said Wednesday morning that the sale of such cultural assets is “very private”, so it is feared they will melt Celtic coins and sell them for gold values.

The coin theft is the latest in a series of high-profile museum heists in Germany.

The Big Maple Leaf.

The “big maple leaf,” which is regarded as the second-largest gold coin in the world, was taken from Berlin’s esteemed Bode museum in 2017 in another numismatic robbery.

The Big Maple Leaf (BML) is a 100-kilogram (220-lb) gold coin that costs $1 million (CAD) (3,215 troy ounces). The first BML manufactured is still in storage, but the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) produced a set of six of these coins in 2007. A single Big Maple Leaf had a market value of about $4 million as of March 2017. (USD). One of the coins was stolen from a Bode museum on March 27, 2017.

Police are looking for witnesses who may have seen suspicious people near the museum or who may have other information that could lead to the treasure’s recovery.

Related Articles

Rare bronze hand discovered in Roman Vindolanda, England

11 July 2023

11 July 2023

One of Europe’s most important Roman archeological sites is the Fort of Vindolanda, one of the earliest Roman garrisons built...

A 2700-year-old collection of more than 60 bronze and iron objects found in Bükk in northwestern Hungary

2 October 2024

2 October 2024

An excavation project led by a university team specializing in the Bronze and Iron Ages in Bükk in northwestern Hungary,...

The Gallo-Roman Sanctuary Unearthed in France

30 June 2024

30 June 2024

During a recent archaeological excavation in the old Hôtel Dieu neighborhood of Rennes in north-western France, archaeologists discovered the remains...

The ability to produce ceramic vessels came to Europe via Siberia and the Caspian Sea region

6 January 2023

6 January 2023

A new study suggests that the knowledge for making ceramic vessels came to Europe from the Middle East and the...

From Bronze Age to Buddhism: Xinjiang’s Archaeological Journey Through Time and Recent Discoveries

4 March 2025

4 March 2025

Recent archaeological investigations in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have significantly enhanced our understanding of the area’s historical context and...

New Discoveries Made in World’s Oldest Ancient Shipyard

11 June 2024

11 June 2024

Associate Professor Hakan Öniz, who discovered the world’s largest and oldest shipyard dating back to the Bronze Age in 2015...

A Female Elite Tomb in a Yellow Silk Cloak from the Pre-Mongolian Period Discovered in Mongolia

13 August 2024

13 August 2024

A recent archaeological excavation in Mongolia’s Dornod Province revealed an elite tomb embedded in the walls of an abandoned fortress...

Archaeologists have found a mysterious prehistoric site, believed to be a 6,500-year-old Stone Age cemetery, near the Arctic Circle

4 December 2023

4 December 2023

Archaeologists have found a mysterious prehistoric site believed to be a 6,500-year-old Stone Age cemetery just 50 miles (80 kilometers)...

1,800 Years Old Woman Sculpture in the Ancient City of Metropolis

16 June 2021

16 June 2021

On 12 June, Turkish officials announced the discovery of an 1800-year-old statue of a woman in Izmir. An 1800-year-old statue...

Name of Iranian city identified on 1800-year-old Sassanid clay seal

9 April 2024

9 April 2024

In a stunning archaeological find, the name “Shiraz” was identified on a clay sealing from the Sassanid era written in...

The Ancestors of Today’s Barbie Dolls “Coptic dolls”

23 September 2023

23 September 2023

For as long as there has been civilization, children have played with dolls. Wooden dolls with bead hair have been...

Rare Bronze Age Metalworking Hoard Discovered in Wiltshire, Including an Anvil

20 February 2025

20 February 2025

A remarkable discovery has been made in Urchfont, a village located in Wiltshire, England, where a Bronze Age hoard of...

Archaeologists discover innovative 40,000-year-old culture in China

2 March 2022

2 March 2022

Ancient hunter-gatherers living in what is now China may have been the first people in East Asia to process mustard...

Enigmas Roman Dodecahedron Uncovered by Amateur Archaeologists in the UK

24 January 2024

24 January 2024

Amateur archaeologists have unearthed a striking Roman dodecahedron in the serene countryside of Norton Disney, England, a mysterious class of...

A Rare Ancient Saber Discovered in Kyrgyzstan

5 August 2023

5 August 2023

An ancient saber (heavy military sword with a long cutting edge and, often, a curved blade) was found by three...