Title: Tyven
Description: In the 18th century two Golden Horns (first described by Ole Worm in his book De Aureo Cornu (1641)) were placed in the Royal Art Museum. However, on the night between the 4th and 5th of May 1802 a break-in occurred. The thief stole both prehistoric gold horns and then melted them down. The culprit was Niels Heidenreich, who had previously been convicted of forging coins. He was freed though in 1797 and established himself as a goldsmith, but his business did not go well. He tried to rectify this by gaining access to the Golden Horns with a copied key and then took them back to his home on the corner of Larsbjørnsstræde and Studiestræde. The Golden Horns were broken up and then melted down. The gold was used to make copies of Indian coins and buckles. The buyers of the time were subsequently forced to hand the gold in to the State, which then melted the prehistoric gold down into coins. Later they were replaced by copies which were also stolen in 2007 and then retrieved.
Subjects: Thieves, Biography, Goldsmiths, Goldwork
Places: Denmark
People: Nils Heidenreich (1761-1844)
Time periods: 19th century, 18th century