Thomas Gavin might be America’s most prolific artifact thief — but the jig is up

This 1775 revolutionary-era rifle was Thomas Gavin

Thomas Gavin went on a tear in the ’60s and ’70s, hitting nearly a dozen museums on the East Coast. He mostly stole antique firearms and stashed them in his hideout — a barn in rural Pennsylvania.

(Image credit: Courtesy of the Museum of the American Revolution)

Thomas Gavin went on a tear in the ’60s and ’70s, hitting nearly a dozen museums on the East Coast. He mostly stole antique firearms and stashed them in his hideout — a barn in rural Pennsylvania.