Villena, Badajoz and Albacete: three museum thefts

Antena 3 (28 August 2026) links three raids on Spanish museums so far this year: the Villanueva Treasure in Badajoz (149 gold coins of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries), two gold groups from the Albacete Provincial Museum, and, in the early hours of 27 August, much of the Treasure of Villena (Alicante), Bronze Age goldwork about 3,000 years old. These are not coins: the hoard is one of Europe’s best-known prehistoric gold finds.

The Albacete groups

The note assigns the Albacete museum the Calle del Horno treasure — 42 gold coins of 1775–1838, found in 1970 — and that of Villamalea (180 coins of 1850–1860, Isabella II). The inventory we already summarised with Jesús Vico’s estimate names the first group the Madrigueras Treasure.

A possible same group

Some sources, according to Antena 3, point to an organised group. The trade’s fear is that the gold will be melted: the pieces are catalogued and would be hard to sell intact. Archaeologist Héctor Arcusa argues that if a museum cannot guarantee security it should display a replica. The Villena investigation remains open. More detail in Antena 3 (opens in a new tab).