Türkiye's culture ministry confirmed in April 2006 that it had opened an investigation into whether a gold seahorse brooch from the ancient Lydian Hoard had been stolen from the Uşak Museum and replaced with a counterfeit.
The inquiry began in December 2005 after an anonymous tip. Museum staff became aware of the possible substitution in January when a letter warned that the original piece had been removed. The brooch appeared to be on display, but specialists who examined it concluded it was not genuine.
The Lydian Hoard is a collection of 363 objects in silver, gold, and glass, originally buried in funeral mounds near Uşak during the 6th century BC and later smuggled out of Türkiye. Several pieces went on display at New York's Metropolitan Museum in 1985, prompting Türkiye to pursue their return through a legal case valued at $2.5 million. The collection came back in 1993 and was placed on public display in Uşak in 1996.
Journalist Özgen Acar, who helped track down the hoard, urged that American experts who had examined the pieces in the United States be called in to verify the brooch's authenticity. He also raised concerns about security at the Uşak facility: no metal detectors at entry points and a small staff split between monitoring cameras and selling tickets to visitors.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in April 2006, in its own words.