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Nobel Peace Prize stolen in burglary

NEWCASTLE, England, April 4 (UPI) -- A Nobel Peace Prize medallion and a lock of hair from a naval hero of the Napoleonic Wars were stolen in a burglary in northern England, police said Wednesday.

The break-in at the Lord Mayor's Mansion House in Newcastle occurred overnight Monday, The Northern Echo reported. Police estimated the total value of the haul at 150,000 pounds (about $225,000), although many of the items would be hard to sell.

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The thieves broke in through the cellar, investigators said.

The Nobel medallion was awarded in 1934 to Arthur Henderson, the first Labor member of Parliament to serve in the Cabinet. Henderson, who grew up in Newcastle, was honored for his work with the World League of Peace and for leading the Geneva Disarmament Conference in the early 1930s.

The lock of hair was taken from the head of Vice Adm. Cuthbert Collingwood, a native of Newcastle. Collingwood commanded a ship at the Battle of Trafalgar and is buried next to his friend Adm. Horatio Nelson in St. Paul's Cathedral.

Newcastle Temporary Superintendent Bruce Storey, who described many of the stolen items as "very uncommon," said antique silverware was also taken. He appealed to the public for help in recovering the missing items.

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"The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 93 times to 124 Nobel Laureates between 1901 and 2012 and so the stolen item is extremely rare, recognizable and historically important," he said.

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