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Berlin, Germany

Berlin Coin Cabinet

One of the largest numismatic collections in Europe fell victim to a huge theft.
paintings

Podcast: The Art of the Heist With Noah Charney

Why the thefts of masterpieces have fascinated us through the generations.
The Podcast Team October 26, 2023
graveyards

Which States Have the Most Dead Presidents?

The answer reveals grave robbing problems for America’s deceased leaders.
Frank Jacobs, Big Think October 20, 2023
Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Grave of Friedrich Wilhelm Voigt

A German shoemaker-turned-folk-hero whose impersonation of a Prussian military officer earned international notoriety.
Some 60 years ago, an ancient Olmec sculpture known as the "Earth Monster" was stolen. Last week, it went home to Mexico.
ghost towns

Wonder Is Everywhere: Buying a Ghost Town, Finding the Earth Monster, and More From Around the Web

Get a peek into what we’re obsessed with right now.
April White May 26, 2023
Spoiler alert: The Irish Crown Jewels have never been found.
crime

The Greatest Unsolved Heist in Irish History

Scandal, conspiracy, and cover-ups in the theft of the "Irish Crown Jewels" from Dublin Castle.
Dan Nosowitz November 4, 2021
The Comtesse de Monteil, born Amélie Condemine, in an undated photo published shortly after her arrest in 1908.
crime

How the 'Queen of Thieves' Conned French Riviera Wealthy

The cat burglar and fake countess swindled and stole her way through La Belle Époque.
Caroline Elenowitz-Hess May 4, 2021
He was frustratingly skilled at slicing up maps.
libraries

How German Librarians Finally Caught an Elusive Book Thief

For decades, often using a fake identity, he stole antique maps worth thousands of dollars each.
Jeffrey Arlo Brown November 23, 2020
The Grave of John Palmer, alias Richard Turpin or Dick Turpin
York, England

Dick Turpin's Tombstone

The final resting place of England's most notorious bandit.
The Old Main Bell
Fort Collins, Colorado

The Old Main Bell

After being lost for nearly a century, this historic bell finally returned home after its mysterious theft.
Cliffs of Sewemup Mesa.
Gateway, Colorado

Sewemup Mesa

A remote sandstone plateau named for a legendary cattle rustler.
The oft-coveted Codex Argenteus, aka the Silver Bible, is now ensconced behind bulletproof glass at Sweden's Uppsala University.
objects of intrigue

What's Silver, Purple, and Very Well-Traveled?

The Codex Argenteus—a beautiful and mysterious bible from the sixth century—is now safely stowed in Sweden.
Erika Harlitz-Kern July 31, 2019
Ledburn, England

Bridego Bridge

The site of the notorious Great Train Robbery of £2.6 million, one of the biggest heists in English history.
Permanently Closed
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion

This Philly landmark has a giant butterfly pavilion, three floors of insect displays, and withstood a $40,000 heist.
“The moment I discover a man’s a fool I let him drop,” Bertha Heyman once said.
women

The Prussian Grifter Who Swindled Her Way to Her Own One-Woman Show

Bertha Heyman lived a life in and out of jail and on and off the stage.
Sabrina Imbler May 10, 2019
Barbara Erni's trunk didn't hold valuables, but it did hold a tiny man or a large child.
women

The Liechtensteinian Lady Burglar and Her Mysterious Trunk

Barbara Erni stole from countless inns thanks to a chest with a secret hidden within.
Sabrina Imbler May 6, 2019
The crystal ball on display in the Penn Museum.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The 'Dowager Empress' Crystal Ball

The world's third-largest crystal sphere has sat in the Penn Museum since 1927 with the exception of one outlandish theft.
Resurrectionist.
Stirling, Scotland

Grave Robbing Headstone

A grave marker depicting a body snatching tableau on a 19th-century tombstone.