LOOTED MASTERPIECES AS CURRENCY

Did you know that theft of art works from museums, not to mention private collections,  frequently occurs?  Most museums don't normally report the loss for a variety of reasons: 

1. Questions about security will be asked -- How come there was no background check on this or that guard? How old are the cameras? Can they be easily accessed by a thief? 
2. The museum may not be able to attract other high profile exhibits if a theft is reported. 
3. Rumours will fly about the heist being an inside job. 
4. Museum may not be able to get much needed funding.
5. High ranking museum personnel's job may be on the line
... and the list goes on.

Most thieves steal for the money.  After all, isn't that what makes the world go 'round?  According to my sources, yes, my very special and very private sources, tell me that many art thieves are just plain inexperienced rogues.  Or they are ex-cons looking for ways to pay for cars and houses, drug dealers, pick pockets.  They typically don't know or care about art.  They wouldn't know where to really fence the stuff anyway unless they were schooled properly.  Takes more than watching the Antiques Road Show to do so.  

Art thieving has been around since before the Egyptians peaked. The art boom though really took off in the 1960s skyrocketing prices by over 1,000%. 

People buy art as an investment and very savvy buyers and dealers can make lots more dough from art than a financial investment on the stock market.

I have two tours that I am working on -- "I've Been Framed"1/18 and "Gold, Diamonds and Pawn Shops" 3/21 that address art snatching as well as other art tours where thieving is mentioned.  Researching for the tours has been an eye opening experience.  You know, I hate to run a tour unless I can speak about the subject confidentially.  My goal is to educate in an entertaining manner.

So was I ever surprised when I learned that Investment Banks are in the art biz. The London Fine Art Fund shows an average of 47% on sales back in 2008 and it has escalated even more.  Here's what's important, the Bank has to sit on the art for about 10 years or longer, have a lot of cash and experts to boot. Yet, the profit can be enormous. 

Keep your day job though.