Albacete Museum Gold Coin Heist Stuns Spain

Four masked thieves entered the Albacete Provincial Museum in Castilla‑La Mancha by breaking a window and shattered vitrines in a raid that lasted just over a minute. They stole the majority of two Ministry of Culture gold‑coin collections – 42 coins from the Madrigueras hoard (dating to the 18th‑19th centuries) and about 180 coins from the La Juncada collection (mid‑19th‑century pieces). Many of the coins fell to the floor during the escape, and only a few remain at the scene. The museum’s alarm sounded around midnight, prompting rapid police response; the Judicial Police are now gathering evidence and searching for the perpetrators. Deputy of the Castilla‑La Mancha regional government, Pedro Antonio Ruiz Santos, emphasized that the loss is not only monetary but also cultural, given the historic significance of the pieces.