Attempted Mineral Theft at NMNH

Close
Usage Conditions Apply
The Smithsonian Institution Archives welcomes personal and educational use of its collections unless otherwise noted. For commercial uses, please contact photos@si.edu.
Print
 

Summary

Heindrich Jahn, 47, a German pharmaceutical executive, is apprehended and charged with the theft of between $12,000 and $18,000 worth of mineral specimens from a glass-enclosed case in the National Museum of Natural History. A plainclothes museum guard observed Jahn opening the case with a screwdriver. The three specimens involved in the incident are of perosvkite, chrysoberyl, and calaverite. Jahn confessed that "he took the stones to add to a private collection."

Subject

  • Jahn, Heindrich
  • National Museum of Natural History (U.S.) Dept. of Mineral Sciences
  • National Museum of Natural History (U.S.)
  • Office of Protective Services)

Category

Chronology of Smithsonian History

Notes

  • Wilston Groom, "German Seized in Minerals Theft at Smithsonian," Washington Post, 1975
  • Torch, 6/1975, p. 7

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

May 9, 1975

Topic

  • Mineralogy
  • Exhibitions
  • National Collections
  • Theft

Full Record

View Full Record