The Big Maple Leaf, a big golden coin weighing 100 kilograms with the face of Queen Elizabeth II has been stolen as it was on exhibition.
German police are investigating the theft of a CA$1 million gold coin that bears the face of Queen Elizabeth II. The 100 kg coin was stolen from its showcase at a museum in Berlin on Monday.
Authorities announced that they handed over the investigation to art crime experts, after the 53 centimeter coin went mysteriously went missing from Bode-Museum at around 3:30 AM.
According to the German police, the Big Maple Leaf was stolen by burglars who might have gained access to the building on Berlin’s Museum Island through a window using a ladder, which was later found abandoned close to nearby tramway tracks.
Canadian one-million-dollar coin "Big Maple Leaf" stolen from Berlin's #BodeMuseum: https://t.co/5FG7P9GcF0 @CanEmbGermany @CanadianMint pic.twitter.com/MXBYSpysLT
— GermanEmbassyOttawa (@GermanyInCanada) March 27, 2017
The Big Maple Leaf is a commemorative coin that was issued by the Royal Canadian Mint in May 2007. It is one of the largest coins on the planet, and even though is worth one million Canadian dollars, due to its purity has a material value of over $4 million USD.
It had been on display in Berlin since 2010.
It was one of around 3,400 coin artifacts which were on exhibition at the coin cabinet at the Bode-Museum on the Museumsinsel Berlin.
The coin could be on its way to being sold off on the black market, where private collector often purchase stolen artifacts to add to their collections.
