Not just the Louvre: 2,000 rare coins stolen in France’s second museum heist in 24 hours

Hours after the Louvre’s crown jewels vanished, another museum in France was hit — this time, thieves made off with 2,000 gold and silver coins.

In what’s shaping up to be one of France’s most shocking weeks for cultural theft, another museum has been robbed, just hours after the audacious Louvre heist that stunned the world.

According to a report by the BBC, nearly 2,000 gold and silver coins, some dating back more than 235 years, were stolen from the Maison des Lumières Denis Diderot museum in Landres, north-eastern France. The coins, valued at around $104,000, were discovered missing on Tuesday morning when staff opened the museum and found signs of a break-in.

Officials described the theft as 'highly targeted,' a clean operation that left everything else in the museum untouched.

What happened at the Landres museum

A planned job, not a random break-in. The thieves reportedly broke in through the museum’s sliding glass entrance, leaving behind shattered glass and visible signs of forced entry. Inside, only the coin collection, described as part of the 'museum treasure,' was missing.

Local authorities said in a press release that law enforcement “was immediately alerted and conducted a complete inspection of the premises.” According to initial observations cited by BBC, the missing coins were part of a cache discovered in 2011 during renovations at the Hôtel du Breuil, the 18th-century building that now houses the museum.

The coins date between 1790 and 1840 and were considered a prized part of Landres’ private collection. They were also carefully chosen during the theft, 'selected with great expertise,' according to the town’s statement quoted by the BBC.

That phrasing suggests the burglars knew exactly what they were after.

Just hours after the Louvre’s multimillion-dollar jewel heist

The Landres burglary unfolded barely a day after the Louvre Museum in Paris suffered an even bolder crime. On October 19, thieves disguised as renovation workers stole eight pieces of the French crown jewels worth roughly $102 million in a four-minute heist.

The group drove up to the Louvre in a truck fitted with a freight lift, placed traffic cones to mimic maintenance work, and climbed a ladder to enter through a first-floor window leading to the Apollo Gallery.

Once inside, they used disc cutters to slice open the glass cases, triggering panic among museum staff. In line with security protocols prioritising crowd safety, security officers evacuated visitors before calling police. The thieves fled using the same route, escaping eastward on two scooters.

Police later recovered one major artifact, the emerald-studded imperial crown of Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, lying outside the museum.

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Security failures exposed

In a frank admission before French senators, Louvre Director Laurence des Cars said on Wednesday that the museum’s CCTV systems were 'aging,' with one in three rooms lacking cameras and the only camera monitoring the exterior wall “pointing away” from the balcony the thieves used to enter.

“We failed these jewels,” des Cars said, adding that “no one is protected from brutal criminals, not even the Louvre.”

France’s Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin later confirmed that the museum’s security protocols had 'failed,' admitting that allowing thieves to drive a modified truck right up to the museum 'left a terrible image for France.'

As investigations continue, France’s Ministry of Culture is expected to order nationwide security reviews at museums and heritage sites. Experts told BBC that such assessments are overdue, given that cultural thefts in Europe have risen steadily since 2022.