Thieves Raided Another French Museum Hours After the Louvre Heist — and the Theft Was Undetected for 2 Days By Desiree Anello

Another museum in France has been the target of brazen thieves.

Approximately 2,000 gold and silver coins were stolen from Maison des Lumières Denis Diderot in Landres on Oct. 19, just hours after over $100 million worth of jewels were stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Workers arrived at the museum — dedicated to philosopher and encyclopedist Denis Diderot — on Oct. 21 when they noticed one of the display cases was smashed and raised the alarm, according to a statement to French media from local authority, per the BBC and USA Today.

According to The Sun, the break-in had actually occurred on Oct. 19 and went undetected for two days while the museum was closed. 

The display case contained coins, dating between 1790 and 1840, that were discovered in 2011 during renovation at the museum. The stolen coins are worth approximately €90,000 (or $104,000). Authorities said in a public statement, per USA Today, that the robbery was conducted with “great expertise and precision.”

It’s undetermined if this theft is connected to the Louvre theft.

Just hours before the thieves quietly stole the historic coins, four chainsaw-wielding thieves broke into the Louvre Museum in Paris using a ladder boosted by a mechanical boom truck to force a window open at the famed museum and steal millions of dollars worth of jewelry.

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“They stole jewelry from display cases inside the museum and fled on motorcycles. An investigation has begun, and a detailed list of the stolen items is being compiled,” a Louvre spokesperson said in a statement to PEOPLE shortly after the incident.

“Beyond their market value, these items have inestimable heritage and historical value. The ministers of culture and the interior are on site with the museum’s management,” the statement continued.

As for what was stolen from the iconic museum? The Ministry of Culture confirmed to Reuters that nine items were stolen: a sapphire tiara, a sapphire necklace and a single sapphire earring worn by Queen Marie-Amélie and Queen Hortense; a matching emerald necklace and emerald earrings worn by Marie-Louise (Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife); a tiara and large brooch that belonged to Empress Eugénie; and a brooch known as the “reliquary brooch.”

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An expert later told the BBC that if authorities failed to locate the stolen jewels the following two days, they would likely never be found.

“[Police] know that in the next 24 or 48 hours, if these thieves are not caught, those pieces are probably long gone,” Chris Marinello, the CEO of Art Recovery International, told the outlet on Oct. 20. “They may catch the criminals but they won’t recover the jewels.”