University of Bonn Appeals for Information on Stolen Fossils
Fossils and other exhibits have been stolen from the Goldfuß Museum at the University of Bonn during renovation work, and the police are investigating. The University is asking for assistance from anyone who has seen anything suspicious or might be able to provide information about the items’ whereabouts.
Have you seen anything?
Please notify the Bonn Police if you
- were in or near the Goldfuß Museum at Nußallee 8 during its renovation (i.e. at any point since December 2023) and noticed anything unusual going on;
- have seen one of the items shown below;
- have spotted any of the items being offered for sale online, at collectors’ or fossil fairs, in stores or on social media;
- are aware that one of the items has been passed on, offered for sale or put on public display; or
- have any other information that could be connected to the disappearance of the exhibits.
Even observations that might initially seem trivial to you might be important for the investigation.
Please share your information with the police without delay. Do not contact potential sellers yourself or attempt to buy or otherwise obtain any items being offered for sale.
How to contact the police
Please pass any relevant information on to the police as follows:
Bonn Police
Criminal Investigation Division 13
Phone +49 228 15-0
Email: kk13.bonn@polizei.nrw.de
Alternatively, you can contact any other police station. Please call the police hotline on 110 in an emergency.
The stolen items
The photographs below show a selection of the fossils and other exhibits that have been stolen. The images are designed to help members of the public to recognize the items, although their colors and sizes may differ from those shown in the photographs.
Should you spot one of these items or be offered something that looks similar for sale, please record—provided that you can do this without making contact—the link, a screenshot, the name of the platform and the date and time you made your observation, and pass this information on to the police.
Why these items are especially important
The Goldfuß Museum’s historical collection dates back to the institution’s founder Georg August Goldfuß (1782–1848). As well as being of considerable material value, the stolen exhibits bear witness to the Earth’s history and are vital for the University’s research, teaching and communication of scientific findings.
Some of the fossils are unique due to their characteristics and scientific documentation, so their loss is also significant in scientific, cultural, historical and intellectual terms.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
During renovation work at the Goldfuß Museum, some wooden safety enclosures were opened, display cases were broken into and exhibits were stolen. The damage and losses were discovered when the enclosures came to be dismantled. The University immediately filed a report, prompting the police to launch an investigation.
We do not currently know when exactly the theft took place. As things stand, it could have happened at any time during the whole two-year renovation period. Investigators are looking into whether this timeframe can be narrowed down any further.
Fossils and other exhibits from the museum’s classification-based collection are missing. This web page shows some of the main ones.
Many items can be identified from their shape, surface structure, fracture points, traces of preparation or markings. You can find details of specific identifying features beside the individual images.
The following may be relevant in particular: unusual or conspicuous goings-on inside the museum or in its vicinity; suspicious shipments; or suspicious offers for sale seen online, on trading platforms, at fairs, in stores or on social media. Even things that you observed some time ago might be important.
Do not contact the seller. Instead, if you can you should note down or make a record of the URL, the name of the platform, the seller’s account or profile name, screenshots and the date and time, and pass this information on to the police.
Yes. The investigating authorities will determine how valid a tip-off is, so you should report your observation even if you cannot say for sure whether it involves one of the stolen items.
The University is providing as much information as it can. Certain details regarding the incident, the stolen items and the damage and loss sustained cannot be disclosed at the moment so as not to compromise the ongoing investigation and efforts to recover the exhibits.
Media contact
Please pass any media inquiries on to:
University Communications at the University of Bonn
Phone: +49 228 73-5980
Email: kommunikation@uni-bonn.de
N.B.: If you have any relevant information to report about the incident or the whereabouts of the items, please share it with the police directly, not the Press Office.