In August, 15 men tamper with train signals and stop the Glasgow-to-London mail train, stealing £2.6 million without firing a shot. Thirteen suspects of the Great Train Robbery are arrested and imprisoned. Three escape jail and become folk heroes - one of whom gets his life made into a movie starring Phil Collins. The lost money was never recovered.

1978
On December 11, a gang of thugs slips into the Lufthansa Airlines cargo terminal at New York's JFK airport and steals $5.8 million in cash and jewelry. Unfortunately for police, the currency consists of dollars that had been exchanged overseas, thus making it impossible to trace. One suspect is sentenced; several are murdered. Only $20,000 was ever recovered. The heist was portrayed in the 1990 mobster film Goodfellas.

1983
In November, six thieves break into the Brinks Mat warehouse at London Heathrow Airport. They hope to steal £3 million but instead discover a safe filled with 10 tons of gold bullion worth £26 million. The haul is so large and heavy, gang members actually leave the airport to retrieve a larger vehicle. A handful are eventually jailed. Three tons of gold remain unaccounted for.

1990
In March, just after St. Patrick's Day, two men overpower guards at Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and steal 13 paintings by Rembrandt, Degas, Manet, and others. Some works are crudely cut out of their frames. Officials estimate the total loss at roughly $300 million. Despite a $5 million reward, no artwork has been found, and there have been no arrests. The museum continues to display the empty frames.

1997
In September, crooks break into the Dunbar Armored Car depot in Los Angeles, and within half an hour stuff $18.9 million in cash into a waiting
U-Haul. After some years, all are caught and confess, including the ringleader, a Dunbar employee. The Dunbar Armored Robbery remains the largest cash robbery in U.S. history. $10 million remains missing.