Pensioner arrested and released in connection to Riverside theft
The stolen Lipton cup remains lost as police seek answers
A 71-year-old man arrested by Police Scotland in connection to the stolen ‘Lipton Cup’ from the Riverside Museum has now been released without charge, while investigations remaining ongoing.
The 18-carat gold cup was taken from a display case last October and has still not been recovered.
Worth an estimated £490,000, the cup itself has a storied history, honouring the ‘world’s most cheerful loser’ Sir Thomas Lipton.
Lipton grew up in the Gorbals area of Glasgow before making his way to the USA where he saw a different way of shopping, a change he brought to the UK, opening grocery stores across the country.
"The world's most cheerful loser"
He later saw a gap in the tea trade where he made his fortune, becoming one of the richest men in the world at the time.
Sir Thomas was presented with his namesake trophy following his fifth and final failed attempt to claim the America’s Cup in 1930.
The America’s cup holds the record for the oldest international sporting trophy in history and sees yachts race at high speeds across the globe.
Lipton attempted to win the cup between 1899 and 1930, representing Great Britain against the US for this prestigious prize.
Police are still looking for the stolen 18-carat cup
Such was Lipton’s good-humoured pursuit for this elusive yachting accolade, and his undying sportsmanship, he endeared himself to the public with many Americans rooting for the Scot over their compatriots.
US president Franklin D Roosevelt even donated to the creation of the Lipton cup, and Utah miners donated 25kg of silver for the trophy’s base.
Roosevelt said: “Sir Thomas and his good sportsmanship are a lesson to every American.”
The Lipton cup has now been circulated as a stolen artefact via Interpol, and anyone with information on its whereabouts has been urged by the police to come forward.
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