Staff at the NSW State Library have been left distraught after up to $1 million worth of rare Australian coins were stolen in a brazen daylight theft.
CCTV footage of the heist, which occurred just before 4pm (AEST) on Wednesday, has been handed to police, who say it shows a man entering the library on Macquarie Street and approaching a glass display cabinet.
Library staff did not discover the theft until the following morning.
The coins were part of a rare collection, NSW state librarian and chief executive Alex Byrne told AAP on Friday.
Of the 15 coins on display, 12 were stolen, he said.
"They were Australian coins and worth up to $1 million," he said.
"The most interesting one in many ways is a holey dollar, dating from the time of Governor (Lachlan) Macquarie (governor 1810-1821) and is an example of Australia's first currency."
Mr Byrne told Macquarie Radio: "It's hard to imagine something more precious. It really was Australia's first currency.
"We see our job as carrying history forward for the next generations, so when someone cuts across that, it is upsetting."
Dealers had been alerted to the theft, he said.
The coins were in a secure display case, on the upper level of the Mitchell Library building.
Mr Byrne said they were in an secure case that was connected to an alarm, very difficult to open and monitored by CCTV.
"It was a very violent break-in - violence against the case," he said.
"By the look of it, it was somebody who was experienced in doing that type of thing."
Mr Byrne said the robbery was the first of its type for the institution.
Police believe the thief may also be connected to a jewellery robbery on the same day.
Diamond earrings, diamond rings and a gold pendant worth $75,000 were stolen from a glass display cabinet at a Sydney hotel an hour and a half after the library robbery.
Forensic specialists are investigating possible links between the thefts.
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