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Lausanne, Switzerland — Swiss police launched a manhunt Friday for two unidentified robbers who staged a brazen late-afternoon theft at the Musée Romain de Lausanne-Vidy (commonly known as the Roman Museum of Lausanne), a renowned ancient Rome-themed institution in this lakeside city, making off with dozens of priceless gold coins from a smashed display case. The incident, which unfolded just before closing time on Thursday, November 20, 2025, has heightened alarms across Europe's cultural sector, already reeling from a wave of high-profile museum raids this year.
According to a statement from Lausanne city police, the suspects — described only as two men — purchased admission tickets earlier in the day and blended in with the dwindling crowd of visitors. As the museum emptied around 5:45 p.m., they ambushed the lone security guard on duty, overpowering and restraining him before using a blunt object to shatter a reinforced glass vitrine housing the artifacts. The guard, a 64-year-old Swiss national, was not seriously injured but was left shaken and received immediate medical evaluation. He managed to trigger a silent alarm shortly after the perpetrators fled on foot, prompting a rapid response from municipal patrols, cantonal canine units, and forensic teams.
The stolen items — approximately 45 to 50 Roman-era gold aurei dating from the 1st to 3rd centuries A.D. — hold immense archaeological significance, originating from excavations in the ancient Roman settlement of Vidy, just outside Lausanne. These solid-gold pieces, each weighing about 7–8 grams and featuring emperors such as Augustus, Nero, and Trajan, were part of the museum's core permanent collection. While police declined to disclose an exact monetary valuation pending expert appraisal, the melt value alone is estimated at over 250,000 Swiss francs (approximately $290,000 USD) based on current gold prices. Their true cultural and historical worth, however, is incalculable.
The Musée Romain de Lausanne-Vidy, housed in a neoclassical villa overlooking Lake Geneva, is one of Europe's premier repositories of Gallo-Roman artifacts, with over 10,000 objects including mosaics, statues, and jewelry unearthed from local sites. The stolen coins had recently been highlighted in a refreshed exhibit on imperial economy and daily life.
This robbery is the latest in a disturbing surge of commodity-driven heists targeting European museums in 2025, where thieves prioritize raw material value — especially gold and silver — over artistic merit. The trend has been fueled by soaring precious-metal prices throughout the year, with gold rising more than 50% before a modest correction in recent weeks. Criminals are increasingly melting down artifacts for quick sale on the black market.
Similar incidents this year include:
- October 2025: Masked robbers stole over ás 2,000 gold and silver coins from a museum in Langres, France.
- September 2025: Burglars used an angle grinder and possible cyber intrusion to steal 6 kilograms of raw gold nuggets worth €600,000 from the Paris National Museum of Natural History.
- The still-unsolved October 19 daylight robbery at the Louvre in Paris, where thieves disguised as construction workers used a cherry picker to access a balcony and escaped with eight Napoleonic crown jewels valued at €88 million — an incident that exposed major security gaps and prompted a nationwide overhaul of museum protections in France.
The Lausanne theft has prompted immediate institutional and legal responses. The Vaud cantonal prosecutor's office has opened a criminal investigation into robbery, assault, and property damage. Lausanne city authorities filed a complaint for damage to the museum building, while the Canton of Vaud, legal owner of the coins, announced it will file a separate criminal complaint. The museum has been closed indefinitely for forensic examination and to allow staff to receive psychological support.
Investigators are reviewing hundreds of hours of CCTV footage from the museum and surrounding areas, including the nearby Ouchy port. A perimeter search of Lake Geneva's southern shore yielded no immediate results, but police recovered a discarded ticket stub bearing partial fingerprints. Swiss Federal Police are coordinating with Interpol, and border alerts have been issued.
Museum director Elena Rossi described the loss as devastating: "These coins are not mere metal; they are threads connecting modern Lausanne to the Roman Empire that once governed this region."
Local and regional leaders have pledged increased funding for security upgrades across Vaud's cultural institutions. The incident has reignited broader European debates about the need for AI-enhanced surveillance, blockchain-based provenance tracking, and sustained public-private investment to protect heritage sites in an era when skyrocketing commodity prices make even modest ancient gold objects attractive to organized crime.
As the investigation continues, the people of Lausanne — and the global archaeological community — await news of whether these irreplaceable pieces of Roman Helvetia will ever be recovered, or whether they have already been lost forever to the crucible.
