German police probing an unusual theft of 2,000-year-old Celtic gold coins earlier this week have expressed confidence in their criminal investigation.
"The weekend has proved interesting, but I can reveal nothing as investigations proceed," a spokesman for the Bavarian police said.
On Saturday, police searched the area around the museum in the town of Manching in Upper Bavaria with metal detectors, finding a number of objects that could be related to the theft, which took place early on Tuesday.
The thieves got away with almost 500 coins that were found during an archaeological dig in Manching in 1999. The find was described by the museum as "the largest Celtic gold find of the 20th century."
While the value of the 3.7 kilograms of gold, if melted down, is estimated at around $250,000, in their original state the coins are of inestimable worth.
Museum experts believe they would be difficult to sell as coins, as they have individual characteristics that are well documented. There are fears that the hoard will simply be melted down and the coins lost.
During the heist, the thieves sabotaged the local phone network in the town to the south-east of Ingolstadt, paralyzing phone and internet services as well as the museum's alarm system.
The investigators are looking into whether there could be a links to spectacular gold heists from German museums over recent years – Dresden's Green Vault in November 2019 and Berlin's Bode Museum in March 2017.
While two men have been convicted of the Bode Museum theft of a huge gold coin, the coin is thought to have been melted down. The Dresden treasures of 18th century jewellery have not been recovered.
