Berlin police make arrests over giant gold coin theft

Berlin police launched raids on multiple locations in the city on Wednesday, deploying a SWAT team and making several arrests linked to the spectacular robbery on the Bode museum in March. While authorities confirmed that arrests had been made, they did not provide any details on the suspects.

The majority of the raided homes were in the district of Neukölln, a police spokesman said. However, there was still “no decisive information” on the location of the coin. 

Police had previously speculated that the 100-kilogram (221 pound) coin could have been divided into smaller chunks.

Issued by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007, the “Big Maple Leaf” has a face value of $1 million Canadian ($745,000, 675,000 euros). However, the material alone is worth of $4 million. 

The Canadian treasury assigned the coin the nominal value of 1 million Canadian dollars, but its real value is several times higher

Across the bridge in a wheelbarrow

As DW reported in late March, the group of thieves likely broke into Berlin’s Bode Museum from an elevated section of tram tracks which run alongside the museum walls. Security footage from a nearby stop shows three masked perpetrators. They allegedly placed a ladder on the tracks to reach a window and gain entry to the building. They then smashed the glass display case and rolled the 53-centimeter (21-inch) coin outside.

According to the investigators, the thieves then loaded the coin into a wheelbarrow and wheeled it across a railway bridge to the other side of the river Spree. They then climbed off the tracks on a rope and loaded the coin into a car.

Read more: Berlin 24/7 – After the theft of the Big Maple Leaf

The investigators found a deep impact mark below the tracks, suggesting that the coin was dropped and likely damaged. The police also found the rope, the ladder and the wheelbarrow as well a burning Mercedes in an underground car park.

The ladder was found next to the tram tracks

Stolen coin on a loan

The “Big Maple Leaf” is one of only five in the world. It features a portrait of the Queen Elizabeth II, Canada’s nominal head of state. It boasts record purity of 999.99/1000 gold.

The owner of the coin loaned it to the Bode museum in 2010, to be displayed as part of one of the largest numismatic collections in the world, the German Münzekabinett. In an interview for DW, the collection’s director Bernhard Weisser said he hoped the coin would resurface and be displayed again “no matter what condition it might be in.”

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  When Mona Lisa’s smile disappeared

  The world’s most famous portrait, Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa,” was stolen in 1911. A young Italian named Vincenzo Peruggia took the painting from the Louvre in Paris. Dressed like a member of the museum staff, he was able to hide the relatively small painting under his work coat. It reappeared in 1913 after an art dealer alerted the police

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  The world’s most frequently stolen painting

  Rembrandt’s portrait of “Jacques III de Gheyn” wasn’t stolen from Britain’s Dulwich Picture Gallery just once, but four times, namely in 1966, 1973, 1981 and 1986. That’s why it came to be nicknamed “takeaway Rembrandt.” But, fortunately, after each theft, the painting was recovered.

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  The burglary of 13 paintings from the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum stirred international attention in 1990. Two men disguised as policemen broke into the building and removed the paintings, among them Edouard Manet’s “Chez Tortoni” and Jan Vermeer’s “Concert” (pictured). The empty picture frames are still hanging on the walls.

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  Spectacular Van Gogh theft

  In 1991, a man managed to lock himself into a bathroom in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam – unnoticed. With the help of a warden, he removed a total of 20 paintings, among them the Dutch painter’s “Self portrait with Easel.” However, police were able to recoverthe booty in the getaway car just one hour later, The thieves were caught a few months later.

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  Da Vinci disappeared for years

  “Madonna of the Yarnwinder” by Leonardo da Vinci, estimated at 70 million euros ($76 million) was stolen from a Scottish castle in 2003. Two thieves who entered an exhibition as tourists overpowered the security guard at Drumlanrig Castle and fled with the precious artwork. It remained lost for years until it was discovered during a raid in Glasgow in 2007.

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  Armed assault on the Munch Museum

  Two paintings by expressionist Edvard Munch, “The Scream” and “Madonna,” were stolen in Oslo in 2004. Two armed robbers invaded the Munch Museum and, witnessed by numerous visitors, ripped the paintings from the wall. Police were able to retrieve the two famous paintings. However, “The Scream” was damaged so badly during the incident that it could never be fully restored.

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  In 2008, armed thieves pilfered four paintings amounting to a total value of 180 million Swiss francs ($182 million) from the collection Bührle in Zurich. “The Boy in the Red Vest” by Paul Cézanne, “Ludovic Lepic and His Daughters” by Edgar Degas, “Blossoming Chestnut Branches” by Vincent van Gogh, and “Poppy Field Near Vétheuil” by Claude Monet (pictured) all resurfaced later on.

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  Theft of a 100-kilo gold coin in Berlin

  In March 2017, a huge gold coin weighing 100 kilos was stolen from Berlin’s Bode Museum. Just its sheer material value alone amounts to four million dollars. It is believed that the thieves found their way into the building through a window. The “Big Maple Leaf” coin originated in Canada. It is 53 cm high and 3 cm thick. On the front side, it bears an image of Queen Elizabeth II.

  Author: Ines Eisele (ad)

dj/rt (dpa, AFP)

Article source: http://www.dw.com/en/berlin-police-make-arrests-over-giant-gold-coin-theft/a-39651466?maca=en-rss-en-ger-1023-xml-atom