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1933 Double Eagle Anonymous
The 1933 double eagle (United States 20-dollar gold coin) currently holds the record for highest price paid at auction for a single U.S. coin when it was purchased for US$7.59 million. 445,500 specimens of this Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle were minted in 1933, but no specimens ever officially circulated and nearly all were melted down. In order to end the 1930s general bank crisis, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6102 in 1933 and the Gold Reserve Act in 1934, which outlawed the circulation and private possession of United States gold coins for general circulation. 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.

Two of the $20 Double Eagles were presented by the United States Mint to the U.S. National Numismatic Collection. These two coins should have been the only 1933 Double Eagle coins in existence. However, unbeknownst to the Mint, a number of the coins (20 have been recovered so far) were stolen, possibly by the U.S. Mint Cashier, George McCann. At least nine of these coins, which were illegal to possess, found their way via Philadelphia jeweler Israel Switt, into the hands of collectors.

One of the missing Double Eagles was acquired by King Farouk of Egypt. 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, however, the coin disappeared and was not seen again in Egypt.
>> Anonymous
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A Double Eagle surfaced again after over forty years of obscurity, when Stephen Fenton was arrested by US Secret Service agents during a sting operation at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. Under sworn testimony, he insisted the Double Eagle had come from the collection of King Farouk, though this could not be ascertained. Charges against Fenton were subsequently dropped. The 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. The United States Treasury issued a 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. When the court settlement was reached in July of 2001, the coin was transferred to Fort Knox for safekeeping. Less than two months later, the World Trade Center was destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

On July 30, 2002, the 1933 Double Eagle was sold to an anonymous bidder at a Sotheby's 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, bringing the final sale price to $7,590,020.00. The auction took less than nine minutes.

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 they remain the property of the US government.
>> Anonymous
Whoa, damn interesting. Thanks for sharing.
>> Anonymous
>>249737
Agreed.
>> Anonymous
Word.
>> Anonymous
so who the fuck got a picture this big?
>> Anonymous
>>249726
guess its true you do learn something new every day


in befor tl;dr or copypasta
>> Anonymous
>>249726
>>249728
Commercials? ON /hr/, WHYYYYYYYYY
>> Anonymous
This is relevant to my interests.

In other coin news, I bought a silver Ron Paul commemorative coin from Liberty Dollar last year for $20USD. Its selling on eBay now in the hundreds, no thanks to the FBI's raid on Liberty Dollar and the Sunshine Mint:

http://www.reason.com/blog/show/123543.html
>> Anonymous
>>250441
>I bought a silver Ron Paul commemorative coin from Liberty Dollar last year

sage. fucking ronbots try to squeeze in anything to relate the subject to ron paul. jesus christ.