World's largest gold coin set for auction

An image released on June 10, 2010 by the Dorotheum auction house in Vienna of a gold coin, made by the Canadian Mint with a face value of C$1 million (800,000 euros) that it says is the world's biggest, purest and highest denomination coin. The coin weighing in at 100 kilograms and 53 centimetres in diameter and over 3 cm thick is worth much more than its face value due to the high price of gold. The coin will be on auction on June 25. AFP PHOTO/DOROTHEUM

The largest gold coin in the world — measuring 53 cm in diameter and weighing 100 kg — will go on sale on June 25 in Vienna, auction house Dorotheum said on Friday.

The Maple Leaf coin, which is listed in the Guinness Book and carries a face value of one million Canadian dollars (U.S. $970,000), was minted in Canada in 2007.

The auction price is expected to comfortably exceed the face value due to the current high price of gold. If melted down, the gold would be worth around $ 3.9 million.

One side of the coin carries the carries the image of Queen Elizabeth II, the official head of the State of Canada, while the other side bears three maple leafs, the national symbol.

The coin was owned by Austrian investment firm AvW, which entered bankruptcy proceedings in May.