Dutch prosecutors unveiled a 2,500-year-old golden Helmet of Cotofenesti on Thursday, recovered more than a year after its theft from the Drents Museum. The artefact, along with two of three stolen Dacian gold bracelets, was displayed flanked by police officers. The third bracelet remains missing.
Authorities in the Netherlands announced the recovery of the 5th-century BC helmet and two gold bracelets stolen in January 2025. Robbers had used firework bombs to break into the Drents Museum in the north of the country, smashing display cases to take the items on loan from a Bucharest museum. Three men are currently on trial for the heist but have mostly stayed silent in court, despite offers including reduced sentences and cash rewards to reveal the artefacts' locations. Dutch police offered 100,000 euros for information leading to the helmet's recovery and even used an undercover officer posing as a criminal to approach one suspect with 400,000 euros. Police officer Corien Fahner stated: the Cotofenesti helmet and two Dacian gold bracelets have been returned and we are delighted to be able to announce this. Museum director Robert van Langh noted a tiny bit of damage to the helmet, very difficult even to see, but said it can be completely restored to its original state, with the bracelets in perfect condition. The theft drew outrage from Romania, where then-prime minister Marcel Ciolacu considered claiming unprecedented damages, and Romanian cultural journalist Claudia Marcu compared its impact to the Dutch losing Rembrandt's The Night Watch. Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu called the recovery extraordinary news, saying it is so important not to give up when something is so valuable to multiple generations. Art detective Arthur Brand, who confirmed the find, praised the police work, noting the suspects were arrested just four days after the robbery, making it unlikely the gold was melted down.