A thief with no regard for superstition stole coins from the wishing well at Otorohanga Kiwi House this week.

It's not known if the brazen burglar had an accomplice or acted alone, but they went to considerable lengths to plunder the "petty cash".

Kiwi House curator Eric Fox said they broke into the complex on Tuesday or Wednesday night after 6pm.

"They cut through the fence and cleaned out the wishing well," he said.

"It had a lock and a grate on it and they obviously spent some time with a hacksaw and bolt cutters cutting them and destroying the locks."

He said they probably used a magnetic stick to fish the coins out of the water.

Although scraping the barrel for cash, they could afford to be picky, taking mostly gold coins and leaving the smaller stuff behind.

The money was gifted by visitors to the Kiwi House, but Mr Fox had no idea how much was in the well prior to the burglary.

He said the wishing well got raided about once per year.