Thieves use SUV to smash into Wells Fargo museum in San Francisco, steal gold nuggets

Thieves use SUV to smash into Wells Fargo museum in San Francisco, steal gold nuggets

The thieves made off with just $13,000 in gold while leaving behind priceless artifacts from the Gold Rush era.

Masked robbers smashed a sport utility vehicle into a museum that houses the original Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco’s Financial District, but failed to make off with only a small haul.

The robbers held a guard at gunpoint after using the SUV as a battering ram and eventually stole gold nuggets and ore worth nearly $13,000 but left behind some artifacts from the Gold Rush era that are considered priceless, according to an SFGate.com report.

They fled in a separate getaway car, leaving the SUV behind.

One of the objects they failed to recognize as valuable is a gold-weighing scale from the 1850s and a vintage telegraph, as well as the Wells Fargo stagecoach sitting in the lobby, which are of far more value than the nuggets that were stolen, according to the report.

The robbers were in a big hurry to grab what they could, and in the end were successful in escaping the bold heist. It is the latest in a string of robberies where vehicles are used as battering rams.

The attakc happened at around 2:30 a.m. at the Montgomery Street location where Wells Fargo, today one of the largest banks in the world, first opened its doors. The suspects were wearing hoodies, skimasks, and jeans, and used a GMC Suburban to smash through the glass revolving doors.

The security guard was not injured and was left in the museum when the robbers fled in a four-door sedan. One loose nugget had been left at the crime scene, according to the SFGate report.

Historians were reportedly relieved that the robbers had not caused damage to the priceless artifacts, which they say are of far more significance than the gold nuggets on display.

Considering that the GMC Suburban the thieves left behind likely cost considerably more than the $13,000 in gold they stole, they may have been better off selling the vehicle and avoiding the trouble.

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