Half a million pound golden cup stolen from Glasgow Riverside Museum
Staff haven't disclosed details of the theft until now on police advice.
A rare 18 karat gold cup worth £490,000 has been stolen from the Riverside Museum in Glasgow.
It was taken between October 22 and October 23 last year and staff haven't disclosed the theft until now on police advice.
The Lipton Cup, also called the American Presentation Cup was presented to Glaswegian, Sir Thomas Lipton, in New York in December 1930, following his fifth, and final, failed attempt to win the Americas’ Cup, the premier international prize in yacht racing.
Jane Rowlands, Head of Museums and Collections at Glasgow Life, said: “We are deeply saddened by the disgraceful theft of this important object from the city’s collection and recognise the strength of feeling it will provoke.
"This is not only a loss for the museum, but a theft from the people of Glasgow, whose shared heritage our collections represent.
“Since October, we have been supporting Police Scotland in their investigation to recover the item and have taken steps to review security measures across our museums.
"We have also added it to the Art Loss Register – the world’s largest private database of stolen art – which will flag it to auction houses worldwide in an effort to prevent any attempted sale."
It is highly distinctive with two handles and a detachable domed lid, set atop a square silver plinth base.
It features a representation of the Americas' Cup on an enamel shield depicting the American flag in red, white and blue.
Detective Sergeant Bob Carrigan, from Police Scotland’s Community Investigation Unit in Glasgow, said: “We received a report of a housebreaking and the theft of The Lipton Cup from a display case at Riverside Museum on Pointhouse Place in the city. The incident happened between 5pm on Wednesday, 22 October, and 10am on Thursday, 23 October 2025.
“Extensive enquiries remain ongoing and have included CCTV review and conventional enquiry, including within the art world. The cup has been circulated as a stolen artefact via Interpol and other industry stolen property registers."