A Holey Dollar Returns to Toruń – An Update on the Torún Coin Theft

Toruń is a Polish city and considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its perfectly preserved old town. The many tourists who visit Toruń every year often do not know that the city has a rich numismatic history. Coins were minted in here from the High Middle Ages until 1765. The regional museum, founded in 1861, boasts an almost complete collection of coins from the town of Toruń.

Many of them are gifts from historically interested citizens who have bequeathed their collections to the museum for more than a century and a half. The regional museum’s inventory currently contains around 50,000 coins. In terms of numbers, they make up half of the entire collection. For this reason, a curator was appointed to take care of the coin collection in 1948. Since 1960 the collection has been part of the history department.

361 Missing Coins

The then director of the regional museum had known since January 2017 that 361 coins were missing from the collection. This was because an inventory check had been carried out when the curator of the numismatic department retired. However, the director saw no reason to inform the authorities immediately. The media spoke of chaotic conditions. There had been no proper inventory; it was common practice in the museum to drink alcohol during working hours; coins had often gone missing, only to be found again sometime later.

However, the 361 coins were not found even after several months. In November 2018, the director reported them missing to the police. The police have been investigating since then and have linked the disappearance of at least 194 pieces with an estimated total value of 1.94 million zlotys (= about 465,000 euros or 500,000 USD) to the curator of the numismatics department, who retired in 2017.

The Curator Is on Trial

The curator has been on trial since 21 June 2023. He is accused of having stolen the 194 coins. The fate of the remaining 167 coins is not at issue. The curator has partially confessed. He admits that he embezzled the coins between 2008 and his retirement due to a lack of money. His wife had left him; he was left alone with his children, who were minors, and his income was no longer sufficient; he initially thought that he could take the coins as a kind of loan and would we able to buy them back later to return them to the collection.

For the sale, the curator worked with a local coin dealer who has been charged with receiving stolen goods. The curator is said to have worked with this coin dealer for some time. Allegedly, he repeatedly brokered collections for this dealer for a commission when heirs or collectors came to the museum to ask what they should do with their collection. At a later time, the curator is said to have sold one, two or a maximum of five pieces at a time from the museum’s collection to this dealer. He received several hundred to a maximum of 2,500 zloty each time. 2,500 zlotys is about 600 euros or 650 dollars. In total, he received about 200,000 zlotys (about 50,000 euros) from the sales. The coin dealer denies that he ever knew that the items he sold were stolen.

A Holey Dollar Worth About $300,000

In the meantime, 61 of the stolen coins have been returned to Toruń. The Polish police, the Polish Ministry of Culture and the professional coin trade have worked together in an excellent manner. For example, the auction house Künker personally informed all affected customers of what had happened. Künker paid them back the purchase price for the coins bought at auction out of its own pocket and was able to return the majority of the requested pieces to the Polish Ministry of Culture on 18 September 2023.

The much-travelled Holey Dollar, whose return is now being celebrated in Toruń, was recovered in cooperation with the Australian police. Originally made in 1813 from a Mexican silver coin of 1777, it is unlikely to have been in circulation, given its excellent condition. Its first trace was found in Amsterdam, where it was bought by Polish collector Walery Amrogowicz in 1914. In 1931, he bequeathed the Holey Dollar, along with his entire collection, to the Toruń Scientific Society, which kept it in the regional museum. Since then, the Holey Dollar has been part of Toruń’s coin collection until it was stolen sometime between 2011 and 2015.

The coin has now been returned from Australia to Toruń with the personal and explicit consent of the Australian Minister for the Arts – who could have classified it as an Australian cultural treasure. This appears to be the first known case of Australian authorities being involved in the repatriation of an object of cultural value to Europe.

What Happens Now?

The trial in Toruń is not over. Both defendants face 15 years in prison. The curator, who is now 72 years old, is probably glad that the trial is taking so long. For him, every day of delay is another day in freedom.