1933 double eagle

Twenty-dollar American gold coin minted in 1933 August 2026 October 2023 United States Double eagle ($20.00) $20.00 (Face Value) U.S. dollars 33.431 1.34252 34.1 0.09488 2.41 Lettered – E Pluribus Unum 90% gold, 10% copper 1933 Specimen1Obv.jpg Liberty holding a torch and olive branch, backed by the rays of the Sun, the U.S. Capitol visible; 48 stars circle design Augustus Saint-Gaudens 1907 Specimen1Rev.jpg Bald eagle in flight, backed by rays from the Sun, with motto Augustus Saint-Gaudens 1907 The 1933 double eagle is a United States 20-dollar gold coin. Although 445,500 specimens of this Saint-Gaudens double eagle were minted in 1933 in the midst of the Great Depression,2012-03-02 1933 Double Eagle coin on display at Goldsmiths' Hall en-GB BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-17230477 2023-11-07 none were officially circulated; further, all but two were ordered to be melted down. However, 20 more are known to have been stolen prior to their destruction and found their way into the hands of collectors before later being recovered. Nine of the recovered coins were destroyed, making this one of the world's rarest coins, with only 13 known specimens remaining—only one of which is privately owned, which is known as the Weitzman Specimen. Because the coin was never released to the public, it is illegal to privately own any of the 1933 double eagles, with the exception of the Weitzman Specimen.The One That Got Away: In June, the Only 1933 Double Eagle That Can Be Owned Will Be Sold NGC https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/9064/1933-double-eagle/ 2022-12-11 www.ngccoin.com The United States Secret Service is said to investigate reports of the existence of other specimens that come to light. The two intentionally spared coins are in the U.S. National Numismatic Collection, ten others are held in the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, and the one remaining recovered coin was sold in 2002 to private collector Stuart WeitzmanBarron James March 10, 2021 He Owns World Famous Stamps and a Prized Coin. Now He's Selling. en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/10/arts/design/stuart-weitzman-stamps-coin-auction.html 2021-03-10 0362-4331 (who remained anonymous at the time) for US$7.59 million (equivalent to $12.2 million 2022 y )https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/2002?amount=7590000 $7,590,000 in 2002 → 2022 | Inflation Calculator www.in2013dollars.com—the second-highest price paid at auction for a single U.S. coin.https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/2002?amount=7590000 $10,016,875 in 2013 → 2022 | Inflation Calculator www.in2013dollars.comStack's Bowers Galleries Sets World Record With Sale Of 1794 Silver Dollar For $10,016,875 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stacks-bowers-galleries-sets-world-record-with-sale-of-1794-silver-dollar-for-10016875-188316191.html PR Newswire 1 June 2020 The coin sold again to an anonymous buyer at auction in June 2021 for US$18.9 million, making it the most expensive coin ever sold.https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/three-treasures-collected-by-stuart-weitzman/the-1933-double-eagle The 1933 Double Eagle Sotheby's Holland Oscar 2021-06-09 Rare 'Double Eagle' gold coin sells for a record $18.9M https://www.cnn.com/style/article/double-eagle-coin-auction-record/index.html 2023-10-10 CNN en Production In 1933, in an attempt to end the 1930s general bank crisis, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6102, which provisions included: Section 2. All persons are hereby required to deliver on or before May 1, 1933, to a Federal Reserve bank or a branch or agency thereof or to any member bank of the Federal Reserve System all gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates now owned by them or coming into their ownership on or before April 28, 1933, with the exception of the following: (a) Such amount of gold as may be required for legitimate and customary use in industry, profession or art within a reasonable time, including gold prior to refining and stocks of gold in reasonable amounts for the usual trade requirements of owners mining and refining such gold. (b) Gold coin and gold certificates in an amount not exceeding in the aggregate $100.00 belonging to any one person; and gold coins having recognized special value to collectors of rare and unusual coins. (c) Gold coin and bullion earmarked or held in trust for a recognized foreign government or foreign central bank or the Bank for International Settlements. (d) Gold coin and bullion licensed for the other proper transactions (not involving hoarding) including gold coin and gold bullion imported for the re-export or held pending action on applications for export license. Congress additionally passed the Gold Reserve Act in 1934, which outlawed the circulation and private possession of United States gold coins for general circulation, with an exemption for collector coins. This act declared that gold coins were no longer legal tender in the United States, and people had to turn in their gold coins for other forms of currency. The 1933 gold double eagles were struck after this executive order, but because they were no longer legal tender, most of the 1933 gold coins were melted down in late 1934 and some were destroyed in tests. Two of the $20 double eagles were presented by the United States Mint to the U.S. National Numismatic Collection, and one is currently on display in the National Museum of American History, in The Value of Money exhibit.2014-05-13 The Value of Money https://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/value-money 2023-03-03 National Museum of American History en These two coins should have been the only 1933 double eagle coins in existence. However, unknown to the mint, a number of the coins (20 have been recovered so far) were stolen, possibly by the U.S. Mint cashier, and found their way via Philadelphia jeweler Israel Switt into the hands of collectors. The coins circulated among collectors for several years before the Secret Service became aware of their existence. The matter came to the attention of mint officials when an investigative reporter looked into the history of the coins he had spotted in an upcoming Stack's Bowers coin auction and contacted the Mint as part of his research. As a result, an official investigation into the matter was launched by the Secret Service in March 1944. Prior to the investigation, a Texas dealer sold one of the coins to a foreign buyer, and it left the U.S. on February 29, 1944. During the first year of the investigation, seven coins were seized or voluntarily turned in to the Secret Service and were subsequently destroyed at the Mint; an eighth coin was recovered the following year and met the same fate. In 1945, the investigation identified the alleged thief and his accomplice, Switt, who admitted to selling the nine (located) coins, but said he could not recall how he obtained them. The Justice Department tried to prosecute them, but the statute of limitations had passed. A ninth coin was recovered and destroyed in 1952. In contrast, the 1933 Eagle was issued before Roosevelt's withdrawal order, so they may be legally owned by private citizens. However, it is estimated that no more than 40 exist, the rest having been melted, making them exceptionally rare.https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts PCGS CoinFacts: Your Digital Encyclopedia of U.S. Coins PCGS Farouk specimen 1944 export and subsequent disappearance The missing double eagle was acquired by King Farouk of Egypt, who was a voracious collector of many things, including imperial Fabergé eggs, pornography, antique aspirin bottles, paperweights, postage stamps—and coins, of which he had a collection of over 8,500. In 1944, Farouk purchased a 1933 double eagle, and in strict adherence with the law, his ministers applied to the United States Treasury Department for an export license for the coin. Mistakenly, just days before the mint theft was discovered, the license was granted. The Treasury Department attempted to work through diplomatic channels to request the return of the coin from Egypt, but World War II delayed their efforts for several years. In 1952, King Farouk was deposed in a coup d'etat, and the new government put many of his possessions up for public auction. His coins were catalogued by Sotheby & Co. of London and offered in Cairo as The Palace Collections of Egypt, a sale that opened on February 24, 1954. The double eagle was catalogued as part of lot 185, a group of seventeen twenty-dollar pieces dated 1924 to 1933.Sotheby & Co. The Palace Collections of Egypt: Catalogue of the Important and Valuable Collection of Coins and Medals London Sotheby & Co. 1954 26 https://archive.org/details/egyptpalace1954soth/page/n51/mode/1up The United States government requested the return of the coin, and the Egyptian government stated that it would comply with the request; the coin was withdrawn from the lot before the sale and was not seen again in Egypt.The 1933 Double Eagle Sotheby's https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/three-treasures-collected-by-stuart-weitzman/the-1933-double-eagle The Palace Collections of Egypt, Sotheby's Cairo, February 24, 1954, lot 185 (part, withdrawn) 31 August 2026 1996 reappearance In 1996, a double eagle surfaced again after over 40 years of obscurity, when British coin dealer Stephen Fenton was arrested by U.S. Secret Service agents during a sting operation at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.http://trustsandestates.com/fiduciary/Fiduciary_Litigation_Update_12272006/ Buried Treasure Karen Donovan Trusts & Estates December 26, 2006 26 January 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20101224205644/http://trustsandestates.com/fiduciary/Fiduciary_Litigation_Update_12272006/ 24 December 2010 dead Although he initially told investigators he bought the coin over the counter at his shop, he later changed his story. Under sworn testimony, he insisted the double eagle had come from the collection of King Farouk, though this could not be verified. Criminal charges against Fenton were subsequently dropped, and he defended his ownership of the coin in civil court. The civil case was settled in 2001 when it was agreed that ownership of the double eagle would revert to the United States government, and the coin could then legally be sold at auction to the highest-bidding private owner.http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/signal/coins/worden-coinage0106b.htm 1933 Double 'Legal'—Barry Berke: The Saints' Biggest Advocate Leon Worden COINage 46–48 January 2006 26 January 2011 The United States Treasury issued a unique document to "issue and monetize" the coin, thereby making it a legal-tender gold coin in the United States. When the coin was seized, it was transferred to a holding place believed to be safe: the treasury vaults of the World Trade Center.Farouk-Fenton 1933 Double Eagle Sets New World Record Price!, Gold Rush Gallery When the court settlement was reached in July 2001, only two months before the Trade Center was destroyed, the coin was transferred to Fort Knox for safekeeping. 2002 sale On July 30, 2002, the 1933 double eagle was sold to an anonymous bidder at a Stacks Bowers auction held in New York for $6.6 million, plus a 15-percent buyer's premium, and an additional $20 needed to "monetize" the face value of the coin so it would become legal currency. This brought the final sale price to $7,590,020.00, almost twice the previous record for a coin.Collins Glenn $20 coin fetches $7.6 million at auction https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2002-07-31-0207310313-story.html 14 May 2020 Chicago Tribune 31 July 2002 Half the bid price was to be delivered to the United States Treasury, plus the $20 to monetize the coin, while Stephen Fenton was entitled to the other half. The auction took less than nine minutes. 2021 sale The 2002 buyer remained anonymous for nearly two decades, until March 2021, when it was revealed in a New York Times article to be collector Stuart Weitzman. Weitzman's decision to reveal himself as the coin's owner since 2002 coincided with his decision to sell it, in a Sotheby's auction scheduled for June 2021. The coin was cataloged as Lot 1 in Sotheby's June 8, 2021 auction, and sold that day for $18,872,250.https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/three-treasures-collected-by-stuart-weitzman/the-1933-double-eagle The 1933 Double Eagle Sotheby's June 8, 2021 June 8, 2021 Discovery of ten more coins In August 2005, the United States Mint announced the recovery of ten additional stolen 1933 double eagle gold coins from the family of Philadelphia jeweler Israel Switt, the illicit coin dealer identified by the Secret Service as a party to the theft who admitted selling the first nine double eagles recovered a half-century earlier.http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/index.cfm?action=press_release&ID=607 United States Mint Recovers 10 Famed Double Eagles United States Mint August 11, 2005 July 23, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20120821145108/http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/index.cfm?action=press_release&ID=607 August 21, 2012 dead mdy-all In September 2004, the coins' ostensible owner, Joan Switt Langbord, voluntarily surrendered the 10 coins to the Secret Service. In July 2005, the coins were authenticated by the United States Mint after working with the Smithsonian Institution, as being genuine 1933 double eagles. According to various accounts, Israel Switt had many contacts and friends within the Philadelphia Mint, and reportedly had access to many points of the minting process. A secondary source reports that the Secret Service found that only one man, George McCann, had access to the coins at the time and served prison time for similar embezzlement in 1940. Switt may have obtained the stolen 1933 double eagles through a relationship with the head mint cashier."Double Eagle Trouble", https://web.archive.org/web/20120225210618/http://ansmagazine.com/Summer02/Trouble 2012-02-25 ANS Magazine, 2002 One theory is that McCann swapped previous year double eagles for the 1933 specimens prior to melting, thus avoiding compromise of accounting books and inventory lists.http://www.nunet.ca/nycc/bulletins/NYCC.2009-08.pdf The Bulletin for August 2009 North York Coin Club August 2009 2017-07-17 2022-01-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20220119205240/https://www.nunet.ca/nycc/bulletins/NYCC.2009-08.pdf dead Coin experts in the numismatic world have advanced an argument that Switt could have legally obtained the 1933 coins when he was exchanging gold bullion for coins. Although the Mint records clearly show that no 1933 double eagles were issued, there were allegedly three weeks in March 1933 when new double eagles could possibly have been legally obtained. The mint began striking double eagles on March 15, and Roosevelt's executive order to ban them was not finalized until April 5. On March 6, 1933, the Secretary of the Treasury ordered the Director of the Mint to pay gold only under license issued by the Secretary, and the United States Mint cashier's daily statements do not reflect that any 1933 double eagles were paid out. Until the early 1970s (when President Nixon took the United States off of the gold standard and President Ford signed legislation that again made it legal for the public to own gold bullion), any recovered 1933 double eagle, as gold bullion, was required to be melted.August 2011 Therefore, while double eagles recovered prior to 1974 were melted down, any double eagle recovered now can be spared this fate. Currently, with the exception of the one sold on July 30, 2002, 1933 double eagle coins cannot be the legal possession of any member of the public, as they were never issued and hence remain the property of the United States government."The United States Mint Press Release", https://web.archive.org/web/20111030030756/http://www.usmint.gov/pressroom/?action=press_release&id=280 2011-10-30 US Mint On October 28, 2010, United States District Court judge Legrome D. Davis released a 20-page decision regarding claims to the coins by descendants of Israel Switt, leading to a trial in July 2011."Trial Likely for Langbord 1933s" https://web.archive.org/web/20101119111221/http://numismaster.com/ta/numis/Article.jsp?ad=article&ArticleId=15442 2010-11-19 , numismaster.com On July 20, 2011, after a ten-day trial, a jury ruled unanimously in favor of the United States government concerning ownership of the ten additional double eagles. The court concluded that circumstantial evidence proved that Israel Switt had illegally obtained the coins from the United States government and that they are thus still government property.https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111903461104576458423819724978 Peter Loftus Family Loses Coins Worth Millions in Dispute With U.S. Wall Street Journal July 21, 2011 July 23, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110722044826/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903461104576458423819724978.html 22 July 2011 live The decision was affirmed on August 29, 2012, and the plaintiffs planned to appeal.https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390443589304577633552754096444 Peter Loftus Rare Gold Coins Belong to Mint, Judge Decides Wall Street Journal September 6, 2012 September 7, 2012 The ten double eagles were stored at the Fort Knox Bullion Depository. They were shown to jurors in Philadelphia during the July 2011 trial, and were then returned to Fort Knox, where they were to remain until a decision was made regarding their disposition.http://www.coinworld.com/articles/1933-double-eagle-trial-at-long-last-a-conclu/ Steve Roach 1933 double eagle trial: At long last, a conclusion Coin World July 21, 2011 July 23, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110925193503/http://www.coinworld.com/articles/1933-double-eagle-trial-at-long-last-a-conclu/ September 25, 2011 dead mdy-all In April 2015, a United States federal appeals court ordered the coins returned to the Langbord family because the original asset seizure was conducted improperly, as the government failed to file a judicial civil forfeiture complaint within 90 days of the family's seized asset claim.https://www.wsj.com/articles/court-orders-u-s-mint-to-return-famed-coins-to-family-1429307099 Court Orders U.S. Mint to Return Famed Coins to Family Ashby Jones April 17, 2015 Wall Street Journal April 20, 2015 This order was reversed on July 28, 2015, and in October 2015, an en banc session was held with 13 judges from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, where they heard oral arguments in the ongoing appeal. On August 1, 2016, the judges reversed the previous ruling, finding the coins to be property of the United States government.http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca3/12-4574/12-4574-2016-08-01.html Thomas Hardiman Decision in Langbord v. US Treasury, 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals November 20, 2016 The Langbords appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which on April 17, 2017 denied certiorari.https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/08/02/a-high-stakes-dispute-over-ten-pieces-of-gold-court-reclaims-priceless-double-eagle-coins-for-us-government/ 'A high-stakes dispute over ten pieces of gold': Court reclaims priceless Double Eagle coins for U.S. government Ben Guarino August 2, 2016 washingtonpost.com The 1933 double eagles were viewed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on their August 21, 2017 visit to the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox. The Freedom of Information Act document released after their visit references the coins as "ten (10) '1933 Double Eagle' gold coins recently returned to the custody of the Mint."http://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2018/images/05/18/mint.ft..knox.production-3-29-18.final.pdf 15 April 2023 cdn.cnn.com Knox production In 2018, the Mint disclosed that an anonymous individual had returned another 1933 double eagle stolen by Swift after it was determined the coins were stolen property.Gilkes Paul Why the Mint isn’t seeking that 1933 $20 gold double eagle: They already have it https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/extant-1933-double-eagle-already-in-mint-custody.html Coin World September 27, 2026 en May 31, 2018 On August 28, 2026, during the American Numismatic Association's World's Fair of Money, 11 of the coins were exhibited together at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the first time they were ever placed on public display.Eleven Legendary 1933 Double Eagles Will Appear Together for the First Time https://coinweek.com/eleven-legendary-1933-double-eagles-will-appear-together-for-the-first-time/ coinweek.com July 28, 2026 CoinWeek, LLC. 1 September 2026 See also Money Numismatics United States 1974 aluminum cent Eagle (U.S. coin) List of most expensive coins Notes and references Documentary Hunt for Double Eagle, French version: A la recherche de la pièce perdue, produced by Laura Jones (Fulcrum TV), directed by Tilman Remme, 53 min, 2010 Further reading Alison Frankel, Double Eagle: the epic story of the world's most valuable coin. New York: Norton, 2006 0-393-05949-9 David Tripp, Illegal tender: gold, greed, and the mystery of the lost 1933 Double Eagle. New York: Free Press, 2004 0-7432-4574-1 Bryan Christy, "Curse of the Double Eagle", Playboy, April 2004 Linda Fairstein, The Kills (a fictional story based on the King Farouk–owned 'Double Eagle' coin). Little Brown, 2004 978-0-7515-4284-4 James Twining, The Double Eagle, an investigation novel involving the FBI, United States Department of Treasury, Fort Knox, etc. External links The Double Eagle: the history of the $20 United States Gold Coin 1849–1933 Tripp, David, "The Story: The Forbidden Fruit of Coins: The Fabulous 1933 Double Eagle" (archived from the original at archive.org), The United States Mint https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-17229794 World's most expensive coin displayed in London BBC News March 2, 2012 December 7, 2017 expanded Double eagle Category:Sculptures by Augustus Saint-Gaudens Category:United States gold coins Category:Goddess of Liberty on coins Category:1933 in economic history Category:Currencies introduced in 1933 Category:Eagles on coins Category:Sun on coins Category:United States Capitol on currency