REWARDS... BUT NO TAKERS

No sooner had the Mona Lisa been stolen then rewards were offered for her return. The magazine L'Illustration offered 10,000 francs ($2,000) for information leading to the return of the painting  and 40,000 francs ($8,000) for anyone bringing the painting to the L'Illustration offices. There was a 5,000 franc ($1,000) bonus if they'd bring it in before September 1.    These offers were good for 30 days.

On September 8, 1911, publisher Gerault-Richard of the Paris Journal offered his own reward of 25,000 francs for information leading to the return of the Mona Lisa because he wanted it reported in his paper first.

Obviously, there were no takers. It's not surprising. Everyone was saying that the Mona Lisa was worth $5 million (25 million francs) so 10,000-45,000 francs would have been considered a paltry sum.