German Police Find Melted-Down Gold After Theft of Celtic Coins, Seek Rest of Treasure

Comparison coins are presented during a press conference held by the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office and the Munich Public Prosecutor's Office on the arrests in the Manching gold treasure theft case in Munich on July 20, 2023. Uwe Lein/dpa via AP

BERLIN—Investigators looking into the theft of hundreds of ancient gold coins from a German museum have found lumps of gold that appear to have resulted from part of the treasure being melted down, but still hold out hope of finding the rest intact, officials said Thursday.

Four suspects were arrested on Tuesday over the Nov. 22 break-in at the Celtic and Roman Museum in the Bavarian town of Manching in which 483 Celtic coins discovered during an archaeological dig in 1999 were stolen. The coins date to around 100 B.C.