YREKA, California: The last time so much gold was pulled out of this town, the place was known as ''the richest square mile on earth'', an 1850s gold rush jewel just north of California's Mother Lode.
Now Yreka is feeling violated by an audacious heist.
Two hooded men with socks for gloves and a crowbar apparently slithered through the window of a men's toilet at the Siskiyou County courthouse and reached a fortified lobby display containing one of California's most revered gold collections.
An alarm failed to activate at about 1am on February 1 as the thieves hacked away at inch-thick bulletproof glass. They punched a hole big enough to grab as much as $US1 million ($931,000) in nuggets, including a treasured, 28-ounce find, discovered in 1913, known as ''the shoe'', then stuffed the riches into a backpack. The theft was discovered at 7am.
Yreka, population 7500, is one of a handful of California mining communities that has proudly kept precious trophies of its golden heritage on public display, even as gold prices have topped $US1750 an ounce.
''People are incredulous,'' said Siskiyou County Museum director Michael Hendryx, who had helped arrange the exhibit. ''They say, 'Why didn't they rob a bank?' You can replace money. You can't replace a heritage.''
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/eureka-hackers-hit-the-jackpot-robbing-a-gold-town-of-its-heritage-20120213-1t23p.html#ixzz1mJRhv315
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