Big Change: World's largest gold coin hits the market
- June 13, 2010 16:35
A massive coin of the finest, purest gold will be offered by Vienna-based auctioneer Dorotheum on June 25. The 2007 Canadian $ 1,000.000 Maple Leaf weighs a staggering 100 kilos (about 220 lbs.) and measures 53 cm (20 in.) in diameter. According to the Austrian auction house, its made of 999.99/1000 gold.
Listed in the current edition of the Guinness Book of Records, the big coin bears the image of Elizabeth II, with the reverse showing three maple leaves, the national symbol of Canada. The face value of $1 million is far below the current market price for gold. Bidding will begin at a price determined by the daily gold rate.
The gigantic Maple Leaf was on loan to the ‘Münzkabinett’ of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, which houses one of the largest numismatic collections in the world.
![Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Rape of Europa, 1628–29. Oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in.](/images/c/e2/2e/Jan20_Rape_of_Europa100x100_c.jpg "Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Rape of Europa, 1628–29. Oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in.")
