German police arrest two in theft of 220-pound coin

July 12 (UPI) -- German police on Wednesday arrested two suspects in the March theft of a 220-pound, 21-inch diameter gold coin from a Berlin museum, they said.

The commemorative coin, minted in 2007 by the Royal Canadian Mint and known as the "Big Maple Leaf," is made of 24-karat gold. Its gold content is valued at about $4.2 million.

Regarded as the world's largest gold coin, it was stolen from Berlin's Bode Museum. Investigators believe the thiefs used a ladder and a wheelbarrow to remove the coin from the museum. Police cannot explain how bulletproof glass and burglar alarms at the museum failed to stop the heist.

The two unidentified suspects were arrested in Berlin's Neukolln district. Sources within the investigation described the suspects as members of a "large Arab family" with organized crime links, the BBC said. Police also seized a car containing a knife and a disguise.

The coin has not been located, and investigators said it may have been melted down and sold.