Suspects on trial over theft of giant gold coin

FOUR men went on trial on Thursday for stealing a gold coin the size of a manhole cover from one of Germany’s flagship museums in a daring night-time heist using a ladder and a wheelbarrow.

German authorities believe the Canadian “Big Maple Leaf”, once recognised as the biggest gold coin in the world, has been melted down since its theft from Berlin’s Bode Museum in March 2017.

The coin, more than half a metre in diameter and three centimetres thick, was made from ultra-pure gold and was one of just six produced by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007.