Can you imagine a coin that you couldn’t carry in your pocket? You will be thinking that it is impossible or that it would not make much sense, in fact, perhaps also that it cannot exist, but the reality is that it does. And not one, but several. This is the so-called Great Maple Leaf, which was minted by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007 in what is considered a true technical and artistic achievement, as they write in Mixani tou Xronou. In fact, this was recognized as unique in the world.
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Guinness World Records named it the largest and purest gold coin in the world, since it has a purity of 99.999%, something extraordinary within its characteristics, which are not trivial either. It measures 50 centimeters in diameter and is almost three centimeters thick, with an impressive weight of 100 kilograms and a nominal value of one million Canadian dollars, although it is estimated that its real value is much higher given its rarity and exclusivity, since only five pieces were minted, one of them still being kept at the Ottawa Mint.
On one of its sides it has a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II engraved, with an innovative design by Susanna Blunt, who represented her without a crown or tiara, something totally unusual. On the other, you can see the classic symbol of Canada, the maple leaf, designed by engraver Stan Witten. But really, today it is no longer the largest gold coin in the world, it lost that title in 2011 in favor of the ‘Golden Kangaroo’ minted by Australia, weighing one ton. But this whole story is not impressive only because of its form, but because of what happened to one of them.
A golden robbery
One of the pieces that was minted was on display at the Bode Museum in Berlin (Germany), which is known for having a large collection of coins, thanks to Boris Fuchsmann, a renowned private collector, lending it in 2010 to be exhibited. It caused a sensation, so much so that it also caught the attention of the criminals, who surely found themselves getting rich, never better said, if they could keep it. In this way, on March 27, 2017, a robbery occurred that has left unknowns that are still active.
The modus operandi was not very sophisticated, they entered through one of the windows that overlooked the train track, broke the display case and took the coin with a cart. An investigation was opened that, after several months of work, led to the arrest of four suspects. Three of them belonged to a well-known family of Lebanese origin dedicated to organized crime in the capital of Germany, called Ahmed, Wayci and Wissam Remmo, while the fourth in dispute, Denis W., was a friend of theirs and worked at the museum, so it is believed that he was the one who provided the information about the security systems and facilitated their access.
The trial began in 2019 and lasted until February 2020, ending with the sentences of Ahmed and Wissam to four and a half years in prison, and three years and four months for Denis, while Wayci was acquitted due to lack of evidence, although 3.4 million euros were confiscated. The problem now came for Fuchsmann, to whom the insurance company initially only paid 20% of the value of the coin, alleging that the responsibility for the theft was due to the museum’s poor security measures, but after a trial, they ended up paying him 50%. And the thing doesn’t stop there.
To this day, the stolen currency has not been recovered and its whereabouts are a real mystery. It is not known where he is or what path he could have followed, although there are indications that he will never appear again. This is believed by the remains of pure gold that researchers found in the clothes and car of the condemned, so it is speculated that this copy of the Great Maple Leaf was cut into pieces and melted in order to sell the gold.
