A major police investigation is underway in Germany after hundreds of ancient gold coins were stolen from a museum in a brazen overnight robbery. 

The break-in occurred at the Celtic and Roman Museum in Manching - a city of 13,000 in the country's Upper Bavaria region. 

Police say over 450 of the Celtic-era gold coins, which date back over 2000 years, were taken from the museum's display cases in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Thieves managed to pry open the doors of the building, smash the glass cases and take off with the loot within the space of 9 minutes according to investigators. 

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The museum's security system was disabled after a nearby fibre-optic cable was cut before the break-in. The severed cable also caused much of the town to lose internet access. 

"They cut off the whole of Manching," Mayor Herbert Nerb told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper. 
 

"The museum is actually a high-security location. But all the connections to the police were severed," he added.

"Professionals were at work here," he added.

Huge historic loss 

The coins were unearthed in 1999 as part of an archaeological dig in the region. At the time, it was considered the biggest Celtic gold coin discovery of the 20th century.  

Their theft has saddened local historians, who fear the coins could be destroyed and resold by the assailants. 

"The worst option (would be) melting down. That's a total loss," said Rupert Gebhard, leader of the archeological collection of the City of Munich.  

"The archeologists hope that the coins will be preserved in their original state, and will eventually reappear. They are so well documented that it can be determined at any time that they come from this coin treasure," he added. 
 

Disturbing pattern 

German museums have experienced a series of high profile break-ins in recent years, leading to the loss of millions of dollars worth of artefacts. 

In 2017, a gold coin weighing over 100kg was stolen from Berlin's Bode Museum. 

In 2019, jewels worth approximately $130 million were stolen from Dresden's Green Vault Museum. 

In both cases, suspects have faced trial, but the artefacts have never been seen again. Police in Bavaria say they are looking into whether the latest nighttime heist is linked to previous crimes. 

"Of course, we are exchanging with our colleagues in Berlin and Dresden. Because, as you have also noticed, there may be parallels with the art theft in the Green Vault, with the jewels, and in the Bode Museum, with the Maple Leaf gold coin. Whether there are connections, we can not yet say," said Guido Limmer, Vice President of the Bavarian criminal investigation unit.