BBC: Thieves cut through museum floor to steal 'priceless' silver antiques

[Rand]

Further disturbing news about the safety of historical artifacts stored in public museums.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-6730397

 

Thieves stole a haul of "priceless" silver military antiques by cutting through a museum's floor.

Staff at the Royal Lancers & Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Museum noticed a number of items were missing when they arrived at work on Sunday .

A search then revealed a hole had been drilled up through an archway to allow the thieves to reach into a display cabinet.

Detectives described the raid as "audacious" and "well organised".

 

 

 

 

 

[Rand]

I found where the idea came from.

Love Johnny English movies. Hope there are some agents left.

Edited November 3, 2023 by Rand

[Al Kowsky]

3 hours ago, Rand said:

Further disturbing news about the safety of historical artifacts stored in public museums.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-6730397

 

Thieves stole a haul of "priceless" silver military antiques by cutting through a museum's floor.

Staff at the Royal Lancers & Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Museum noticed a number of items were missing when they arrived at work on Sunday .

A search then revealed a hole had been drilled up through an archway to allow the thieves to reach into a display cabinet.

Detectives described the raid as "audacious" and "well organised".

 

 

 

 

 

Now what are the idiots who stole these treasures going to do with them 🤔? Will they try & sell them at a flea market or melt them down for bullion value 🤪?

[John Conduitt]

3 hours ago, Al Kowsky said:

Now what are the idiots who stole these treasures going to do with them 🤔? Will they try & sell them at a flea market or melt them down for bullion value 🤪?

I find it very strange that they go to all this trouble to steal objects that are worth millions and then melt them down. Like those thieves who stole a huge hoard of Celtic German coins. It's worth so much less as metal - silver is practically worthless, if the melt value of my collection compared to it's numismatic value is anything to go by. You might as well steal a few cars or scam an elderly person with a big house.

[DonnaML]

4 minutes ago, John Conduitt said:

I find it very strange that they go to all this trouble to steal objects that are worth millions and then melt them down. Like those thieves who stole a huge hoard of Celtic German coins. It's worth so much less as metal - silver is practically worthless, if the melt value of my collection compared to it's numismatic value is anything to go by. You might as well steal a few cars or scam an elderly person with a big house.

I wonder how much of a black market there is for artifacts like these. Less portable and more difficult to smuggle abroad -- as well as much less anonymous -- than coins or even antiquities. Some wealthy and dishonest collector with a secret room where he can admire his ill-gotten possessions, stolen to his order? Do such people exist in real life?

[Dafydd]

To go through so  much trouble to break into the building and "target" such artefacts displays a modicum of intelligence beyond that of casual thieves.

I  agree with @John Conduitt and strongly suspect that the intention would be to "ransom" them against an insurance claim. Scrap silver is hardly worth the effort they have undertaken and they would probably know this. 

I'm pretty sure @DonnaML that there are such inscrutable and dishonest people who would arrange  such a theft simply for the sake of depriving others from access to them because they would never be for sale. Many of these pieces of regimental silver are truly magnificent and only decorated the mess tables on high days and holidays. The late Naval Historian Roger Perkins published a book Military and Naval Silver: Treasures of the Mess and Wardroom. 

One of the best pieces of silver I have seen is a large silver table decoration that depicts a Polar exploration sledging team. It is only aired once a year at the Captain Scott Society memorial dinner held in Cardiff which was Scott's port of embarkation on his final journey to Antarctica. 

Edited November 4, 2023 by Dafydd
grammatical error