Romania has received back the Coțofenești gold helmet after it was stolen from the Drents Museum in Assen, the Netherlands. The piece was on loan for the international exhibition “Dacia! Kingdom of Gold and Silver” when thieves broke in with explosives in January 2025. Several Dacian gold bracelets were taken with it. The robbery was violent, and the helmet was visibly damaged: its cheek guard was bent inward.
An international investigation recovered the helmet in early April 2026, together with two of the three stolen bracelets. The search for the third bracelet continues. The gold objects have been returned to Romania and handed to the National History Museum of Romania in Bucharest. The helmet is being restored under the National Commission for Museums and Collections. Experts estimate that returning it to its original form will take about one year. The recovered bracelets were intact.
The helmet is one of the most valuable gold artifacts found on Romanian territory and is associated with the Thraco-Getic civilization. It dates to the 4th century BC, weighs 770 grams and is made of high-purity gold whose alloy contains about 20 percent silver, plus some copper and iron. Only the apex of the skullcap is missing. It was found by chance around 1927–1928 by a boy, Traian Alexandru Simion, near Coțofenești in Vărbilău commune, Prahova County. The Romanian state bought it in April 1929. It later entered the National History Museum collection, where it remains.