Existing comment:
The Unique United States 1933 Double Eagle Gold Coin
In 1934, two Double Eagles were sent to the Smithsonian Institution for preservation, but in 1944 the U.S. Secret Service determined that in 1937, a U.S. Mint employee had stolen a number of the coins destined for destruction. In 1996, the coin on display here -- allegedly owned by King Farouk of Egypt -- reemerged and in an out-of-court settlement was permitted to be sold at auction in 2002. In 2004, ten additional 1933 Double Eagles resurfaced, presented by attorneys representing the daughter of the Philadelphia dealer who had sold all the known stolen 1933 Double Eagles beginning in 1937. After drawn-out litigation in federal court, a 2011 jury unanimously declared the ten coins to be the property of the United States. The remarkable history of the 1933 Double Eagle has inspired four books, a documentary produced for the Smithsonian Channel, and an episode of the popular TV show The Closer.
Designed by the renowned sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the coin features the figure of Liberty striding before the Capitol building on the obverse and an eagle in flight on the reverse. The Double Eagle design was first minted in 1907. |