A collection of handmade gold coins was discovered in Germany in 1999, apparently hoarded by a Celtic king 2100 years ago. A Celtic and Roman Museum was built to house them in Manching, Bavaria, north of Munich. Professional thieves stole them last weekend in 9 efficient minutes, after knocking out a telecom’s internet service throughout the region. The collection of 483 coins and a slab of unworked gold is worth an estimated $1.65 million, but they will be hard to sell; if melted down they’d be worth less than $300,000. Interpol and Europol have been notified, so be on the lookout; the museum admits it did not have a guard on duty, but relied strictly on electronic surveillance, which the thieves exploited. Police have an idea who did it, but they have to find the stash before they can accuse anyone. (Frank Maechler/dpa, 2006)
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