Berlin museum director responds to shocking giant coin theft
Stefan Dege kbm
March 30, 2017
When a 100-kilo, $1 million Canadian coin was stolen from a Berlin museum, the director was weak in the knees. He told DW why he's hopeful the coin will be recovered - and displayed in any condition.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. K. Techt
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Called the "Big Maple Leaf," a coin weighing 100 kilograms (220 pounds) was stolen from Berlin's Bode Museum earlier this week. Issued by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007, it features the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The massive piece has a diameter of 53 centimeters (21 inches) and is three centimeters thick. It has also entered the Guinness Book of Records for its unsurpassed purity of 999.99/1000 gold.
The thieves are believed to have broken into the building located on Berlin's famous Museum Island by setting up a ladder from the adjacent tram tracks. Deducing there were at least two people involved, investigators later revealed that the thieves transported the stolen coin along the adjacent train tracks using a very old-fashioned device: a wheelbarrow.
DW spoke with Bernhard Weisser, the director of the Münzkabinett of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the numismatic collection to which the Bode Museum belongs.
DW: Professor Weisser, were you shocked when you learned of the theft?
The Bode Museum is part of Berlin's Museum IslandImage: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Schindler
Bernhard Weisser: Yes, absolutely. At first I thought it was an early April Fool's joke. Then I thought it was a test for the alarm system. And when I finally understood what had happened, my knees were shaking.
What did you ask yourself first?
My first question was: How could this happen? How could our security system, which has functioned for decades, be overcome? And then I immediately thought of the staff, but fortunately nothing happened to them.
Have you reached any answers as to how the theft happened? Was the museum adequately protected?
It wasn't just child's play with a ladder and a wheelbarrow. Numerous security systems had to be overcome. But of course the answer is still no. Otherwise, it wouldn't have happened. It takes a great deal of criminal energy to get around these security systems. I think we will learn more soon.
The material value of the coin was much higher than its face value. Presumably the thieves were after the gold. They seemed less interested in art history. How much will insurance pay?
The gold coin was on loan and therefore insured. We don't yet know the damage exactly. We still hope that the coin will surface.
How much is the coin ensured for?
With art, that's a tricky situation. With this coin, the material value and the replacement value were calculated. Together with the lender, we then reached a sum to insure the coin for what seemed appropriate for both parties - and which also took the possibility of replacement into account. Of course, there are only five of these coins, so that makes it extremely difficult. That is also the reason why we don't lend out the Nefertiti - because the insurance would be so expensive that no one could pay for it.
You are an expert in numismatics. In terms of art history, how valuable is this coin?
We have had the object since 2010. At the time, we were holding an exhibition on giant gold pieces. The coin was the largest and heaviest coin in the world when it was made - it was truly a gold giant. After the exhibition, we suggested to the lender that the piece be left in our museum on permanent loan.
The Royal Canadian Mint had a good reason to make the coin. They were very proud of managing to make gold coins that were particularly pure, which is why they wanted to create these special ones.
Seven years have passed since the collector entrusted you with the coin. Has their trust been broken?
We are in constant contact with the collector, whose trust is very strong. The owner is of course just as shocked as we are. But at the moment I don't think that our good and trusting relationship has suffered. Of course such an attack impacts him as much as it does us at the museum.
Will he lend to you again?
We hope that the coin will resurface. And the biggest sign of trust for us would be if we could show it once again - no matter what condition it might be in.
Professor Bernhard Weisser has been the director of the Münzkabinett of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, one of the largest numismatic collections in the world, since June 2015. The collection includes the Bode Museum, from which the Big Maple Leaf was stolen.
For more spectacular art thefts, click through the gallery below.
The most spectacular art robberies in history
Armed to their teeth, or disguised as policemen — time and again, thieves have pilfered valuable art objects and paintings. Now, gold coins have been robbed from Bavaria's Celtic Museum.
Image: Frank Mächler/dpa/picture alliance
Like a 'classic' heist movie
Thieves have stolen a collection of almost 500 gold coins from the Celtic Museum in Manching, Bavaria. The 2,000-year-old treasure was the museum's highlight. It is still unclear how the perpetrators were able to switch off the alarm systems. The police described the burglary as having been executed in a classic way, as in "a bad movie," while Bavaria's culture minister called it a "disaster."
Image: Frank Mächler/dpa/picture alliance
Breaking into one of the world's oldest museums
The Green Vault in Dresden's Royal Palace is one of the most famous treasure chambers of Europe. Early in the morning of November 25, 2019, burglars broke into the museum and stole three sets of jewelry from the early 18th century. The works made up of diamond, ruby and emerald gems are seen as "priceless." German newspaper Bild called it "probably the biggest art theft since World War II."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Kahnert
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 as 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.
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 the "Takeaway Rembrandt." Fortunately the painting has been recovered after each theft.
Image: picture-alliance/akg-images
Art robbery in Boston remains a mystery
The burglary of 13 paintings from the Isabella Stewart 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.
Image: Gemeinfrei
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 recover the works from the getaway car just one hour later. The thieves were caught a few months later.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Van Weel
Da Vinci disappeared for years
"Madonna of the Yarnwinder" by Leonardo da Vinci, valued at €70 million ($72 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.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
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.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Munch Museum Oslo
Europe's biggest art burglary
In 2008, armed thieves pilfered four paintings amounting to a total value of 180 million Swiss francs (€183 million, $189 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.
Image: picture-alliance/akg-images
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.
