UNE 25, 2010, 3:35 P.M. ET.

Giant Gold Coin Sells for $4 Million

By FLEMMING EMIL HANSEN

VIENNA—A 220-pound gold coin, roughly the size of a car wheel, was sold at auction to Spanish trading firm Oro Direct for €3.27 million ($4.03 million), essentially equal to the spot price of gold.

The Maple Leaf, made by the Canadian Mint in 2007, has a face value of one million Canadian dollars (US$964,000).

In the end, there was just one bidder for the coin, on the block as part of the bankruptcy of an Austrian investment firm, and the buyer wasn't willing to pay up for the coin's unusual size.

Oro Direct, a Spanish gold-trading firm, met the auctioneer's opening price of €3.27 million ($4.03 million) for the coin, a 100-kilo (220-pound) pure gold coin that is the size of a car wheel, essentially equal to the spot price of gold. Eight potential bidders had been registered at auction house Dorotheum,the world's oldest auction house, but only Oro Direct raised its hand.

The coin was sold as part of the liquidation of the assets of bankrupt Austrian investment firm AvW Group, founded by Wolfgang Auer von Welsbach, the great-grandson of a 19th century Austrian nobleman and industrialist who invented the lighter flint and gas mantle. Mr. von Welsbach is in police custody, facing possible charges of embezzlement and fraud in connection with the firm's collapse.

The proceeds will go to Mr. von Welsbach's 12,500 investors, although it will take three to five years before they see any of the cash.

The auction price disappointed Michael Beckers, Dorotheum's coin expert who oversaw the sale. He had predicted that the price could go as high as €4 million "on a good day."

"I'm a little disappointed. I had hoped and expected to achieve more," he said, minutes after the hammer fell.

As the auction began, gold was selling for €1.011.89 per troy ounce, so 100 kilos of gold was worth €3.25 million, or $4.02 million. That means Oro Direct barely paid a premium for the coin, one of five in the world. It was the first time one of the coins had been sold.

Gold has been climbing to record levels as investors fret about the health of the global economy. Gold stood at $1,251.2 an ounce as the sale started, just $14 below the record set earlier this month.

Valencia-based Oro Direct, which has about €500 million in sales, intends to use the coin in its marketing efforts, managing director Michael Berger said.

"We believe in gold, and therefore also believe we have made a great investment. We believe that going forward, gold will offer the only real safe haven in this uncertain economic environment," he said.

Write to Flemming Emil Hansen at Flemming.Hansen@dowjones.com

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