Thousands in Gold and Silver Coins Stolen in French Museum Heist

Sat Oct 25 2025 02:49:24 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

In a shocking incident, approximately 2,000 coins worth around €90,000 were stolen from a museum in France, highlighting escalating security concerns following other recent thefts.

A museum in northeastern France was robbed of around 2,000 gold and silver coins worth nearly €90,000 ($104,000) during a raid, just hours after a significant heist at the Louvre. This incident reflects growing security issues in French cultural institutions following a series of high-profile thefts.

Around 2,000 gold and silver coins worth around €90,000 (£78,000; $104,000) were stolen during a raid at another French museum - just hours after the audacious theft of some of the French crown jewels at the Louvre in Paris.

The incident happened at a museum dedicated to French philosopher Denis Diderot in Landres, north-eastern France on Sunday night.

When the Maison des Lumières (House of Enlightenment) opened on Tuesday, workers noticed a smashed display case and raised the alarm, officials said. The coins were selected with great expertise, a statement to French media from the local authority said.

It is the latest in a recent string of heists at cultural institutions across France.

The stolen coins date from between 1790 and 1840 and are part of the city's private collection, after being discovered in 2011 during renovation work at the building that now houses the museum, according to local media.

Last month, criminals broke into Paris's Natural History Museum, making off with six gold nuggets worth around €1.5m. A Chinese national was arrested in Barcelona in connection with this raid while trying to dispose of some melted down gold, according to prosecutors. She was charged earlier this month and is being held in pre-trial detention.

Also in September, thieves stole two Chinese porcelain dishes and a vase with an estimated combined worth of €6.55m from the national porcelain museum in the central city of Limoges. The items are still missing and no arrests have been made.

Art detective Arthur Brand told the BBC museums across Europe could see a flurry of copycat raids in the coming months. He noted that if someone can target the Louvre and escape with the French crown jewels, local thieves may think let's try our nearest museum.

Security is clearly a problem for many cultural institutions, he added, mentioning that compared to a heavily protected jewellery store, a museum with lax security and unarmed guards is a ripe target for robbers.

The Louvre heist - as well as the other incidents - have raised concerns in France around the lax security at institutions that house some of its most prized treasures. Speaking publicly for the first time since the heist, the Louvre's director Laurence des Cars stated that the CCTV around the Louvre's perimeter was weak and aging.

Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin lamented that the thieves being able to drive a modified truck up to the museum had left France with a terrible image.