Between the years of 1920 and 1940, the world witnessed the dawn of a golden age of risk-taking and truly ingenious heists that had never before been seen. Whether it was a literal ton of stolen bonds in the ever-busy streets of New York City or numerous gold bars that seemed to have vanished into thin air, the authorities had their work cut out for them.
We’ll take a look at some of the most impressive heists to ever take place from the Roaring Twenties all the way until 1940.
1. The Lincoln National Bank Robbery (1930)
- Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
- Loot: $2.7 million in cash and bonds (equivalent to over $45 million today)
- A gang of thieves broke into the bank’s vault and then made quick work of stealing a massive fortune in cash and negotiable bonds. Even though some suspects were successfully arrested, the money itself was never retrieved.
2. The American Express Robbery (1924)
- Location: New York City
- Loot: $2 million in securities (over $30 million today)
- Thieves broke into an unsuspecting American Express office and then stole various negotiable securities. Even with a lengthy investigation, the loot somehow seemingly vanished into thin air.
3. The Wall Street Bond Heist (1920)
- Location: New York City
- Loot: $5 million in bearer bonds (nearly $80 million today)
- Thieves stole a satchel of bonds right off of a messenger’s hands. The thing is that because bearer bonds are by their nature untraceable, the money was never recovered.
4. The Denver Mint Robbery (1922)
- Location: Denver, Colorado
- Loot: $200,000 in cash (equivalent to about $3.6 million today)
- A bold robbery near the U.S. Mint involved both gunfire as well as a high-speed getaway. Even with all of the investigations, the culprits and the cash itself disappeared.
5. The DeAutremont Train Robbery (1923)
- Location: Oregon
- Loot: $40,000 in cash and gold (around $700,000 today)
- Three brothers were able to derail a train as they searched for gold. Even though they caused all of that destruction and terrible chaos, the gold that they’d originally sought was never found.
6. The Rochester Heist (1933)
- Location: Rochester, New York
- Loot: $11 million in bonds and cash (over $250 million today)
- Thieves broke into a vault and then made off with a huge haul of untraceable bonds. We know how that story ends.
7. The British Museum Heist (1931)
- Location: London, England
- Loot: Priceless Chinese artifacts
- A thief was able to steal 10 rare Chinese jade pieces. Even with the investigations, the artifacts themselves somehow disappeared into private collections or black markets.
8. The Federal Reserve Truck Robbery (1934)
- Location: New York City
- Loot: $590,000 in cash (around $12 million today)
- Thieves went and ambushed an armored truck that was carrying Federal Reserve money. Even with all of the suspicion that fell on several criminal groups, the cash itself was never recovered.
9. The Great Canadian Train Robbery (1924)
- Location: Ontario, Canada
- Loot: $96,000 in gold (over $1.5 million today)
- Robbers were able to stop a train and then stole numerous gold bars that were in the process of being transported. The bars were never found and thus the speculations surrounding hidden stash spots ran amok.
10. The Plymouth Mail Robbery (1929)
- Location: Plymouth, Massachusetts
- Loot: $1 million in cash and securities (around $18 million today)
- Thieves went and ambushed a mail truck, ran off with their loot, and then might as well have vanished into thin air itself. Only a fraction of the money was able to be recovered.
11. The Tientsin Bank Heist (1935)
- Location: Tientsin, China (modern Tianjin)
- Loot: $1.5 million in gold and currency (over $35 million today)
- Thieves tunneled into the massive vault of a major Chinese bank. The loot was stolen, and the running theory is that it was then smuggled overseas.
12. The Reichsbank Gold Train (1940)
- Location: Poland (during World War II)
- Loot: $2.5 million in gold (around $50 million today)
- Gold and treasures that were taken by military forces disappeared during transportation. Some are convinced that its buried in either hidden bunkers or train cars.
