Famous gold coin worth $4.5 million vanishes from museum

A massive 221-pound gold coin was stolen from the Bode Museum in Berlin in the middle of the night, police said on Monday.

The famous "Big Maple Leaf" coin, listed in the Guinness Book of Records for its purity of 999.99/1000 gold, was reportedly stolen by a group of thieves who snuck in through a window at around 3:30 a.m. on Monday, according to police spokesman Stefen Petersen.

The huge coin, which has a diameter of 20.9 inches and features a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, has a face value of $750,000, but it would be worth almost $4.5 million at market prices due to its weight.

Petersen said police assume more than one person was involved because of the weight of the coin -- and the Associated Press reported that a ladder turned up by nearby train tracks.

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