Man, 71, arrested in connection with theft of historic gold cup

A 71-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the theft of a historic gold cup from a Glasgow museum.

The Lipton Cup, which is reportedly worth nearly £500,000, was stolen from a display case at the Riverside Museum last October.

The cup was given to Glasgow merchant Thomas Lipton in New York in 1930 after his fifth attempt to win the America’s Cup, a global prize in yacht racing.

Following his death, it was given to the city of Glasgow.

Police said the incident happened between 5pm on October 22, and 10am on October 23.

On Thursday, the 71-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident.

Police said he was released without charge and inquiries remain ongoing.

The cup has been circulated as a stolen artefact via Interpol and other industry stolen property registers.

It is described as gold, with two handles and a detachable domed lid, set atop a silver square plinth base.

It has an enamelled red, white and blue shield and gold ropework.

Detective Sergeant Bob Carrigan, from the Community Investigation Unit in Glasgow, previously said: “This trophy is of significant historic value and belongs to the people of Glasgow.

“I am now appealing to the help of the public as part of our investigation to find and return the item to the museum.

“Anyone with any information, no matter how small it may seem, is asked to contact police. It may help us piece together what happened and find the trophy.”

Those with information are urged to contact police on 101 and quote reference number 0993 of Thursday, October 23 2025 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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.

“Our priority is to see this treasured object safely returned to the people of Glasgow and we would encourage anyone who may have information about the cup’s whereabouts to tell the police.”