Jim Bisognani: The 1933 Double Eagle Chronicles — Modern Might Chasing Popular World Coins

Another month is here, and we are that much closer to spring. With longer days on the horizon, the appetite for rare and quality US and world coins is as heightened as ever. In my spare time, I used to be able to peruse various listings on eBay and acquire nice raw or certified examples for my own collection at reasonable prices.

One of my personal favorite series is pre-decimal Fiji coins (1934-1968). My fascination with the currency is twofold: Ever since I was a youth, the native themes and the fact that many harbor very low mintages were appealing to me and my limited budget. Most of the coins, which were already scarce, saw extensive circulation, making the Mint State coins quite elusive.

My chase was futile

Two such Mint State modern rarities are the 1938 and 1941 Shillings of George VI. Each coin has a meager mintage of 40,000. As I have a watchlist for “Fiji,” I was excited to be alerted to the opportunity to bid on two of these coins — both were the “finest known.” One was this 1938 Shilling graded NGC MS 64, and the other was a 1941 Shilling graded NGC MS 64+.

However, my plan for purchasing one or both coins near their current NGC World Coin Price Guide value was ultimately squashed. Although the 1938 MS 64 was in the Price Guide at $180, it raced to $293 — a 63% increase. The MS 64+ 1941 appeared in the NGC World Coin Price Guide at $260 but soared to $547 — a 110% increase! I will be adjusting the guide to reflect these new prices.

Another exciting coin offered by the same eBay seller was a dazzling diminutive jewel from Peru. The 1874-Y-J Dinero graded NGC MS 66+ claimed a compelling $526! According to the NGC Census, this is the finest grade for its date, but it is not the finest known for the series; 11 have achieved MS 67, and a single Dinero from 1900 claims MS 67+. To put this in perspective, a coin of this quality could have been bought for one-third of this selling price just a few years ago.

Another scarce coin, from the collector-favorite country of Panama, is the 1933 Half Balboa graded NGC MS 64. It thundered to a record $2,010! This is not the finest-known grade for the popular 1933 date. There are four coins listed in the NGC Census graded MS 65.

Just how impressive is this individual price? A silver set of 1933 Panama Balboa fractionals pedigreed to the Richard Stuart Collection featured a 1/10 Balboa graded NGC MS 65, a 1/4 Balboa graded NGC MS 67 and a 1/2 Balboa graded NGC MS 65. The 1/10 and 1/2 Balboas are tied for finest known and the NGC MS 67 1/4 Balboa is the finest known. The trio sold for $2,000 at auction less than four years ago!

In the current market, many countries that were less popular just one year ago are finding excited buyers for top-tier, albeit modestly priced, coins.

It isn’t so bad playing second fiddle.

As million-dollar gold coin sales seem to be ringing up faster than a pre-pandemic Macy’s cash register on Black Friday, a look at another historic and exciting US gold coin is warranted — one that has perhaps been a bit overlooked.

A bit of background…

Soon after taking office in March 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared a nationwide bank moratorium to prevent a run on the banks by American consumers lacking confidence in the economy. On April 5, 1933, FDR ordered all gold coins and gold certificates in denominations of more than $100 to be exchanged for other forms of currency, which was predominantly paid out in silver coins and certificates.

The new law required people to deliver any gold coins, gold bullion and gold certificates to the Federal Reserve by May 1 for the set price of $20.67 per ounce. The government took in $300 million in gold coins and $70 million in gold certificates. On June 5, 1933, the United States officially went off the gold standard. Congress enacted a joint resolution that nullified the right of creditors to demand payment in gold. (An exemption was stipulated for collector or numismatic coins.)

The 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles were struck after this executive order. Since they were no longer legal tender, the coins were scheduled to be melted down in late 1934. Two 1933 Double Eagles were rescued from the production line and presented to the US National Numismatic Collection by the United States Mint. These should have been the only 1933 $20 coins in existence. However, unknown to the Mint, a number of coins were presumably stolen, possibly through the assistance of a US Mint cashier named George McCann, and found their way to the numismatic sector under clandestine circumstances.

One of the stolen Double Eagles was obtained by King Farouk of Egypt, who was a voracious collector of antiquities, postage stamps and rare coins, and had amassed a collection of more than 8,500 pieces. In 1944, Farouk purchased a 1933 Double Eagle for $1,575, and in strict adherence with the law, his ministers applied to the United States Treasury Department for an export license for the coin. At that time, the Mint theft had not yet been discovered, and the license was granted.

Days later, the Treasury Department realized the coins were stolen and attempted to work through diplomatic channels to retrieve the Double Eagle from Egypt, but World War II hindered its efforts. In 1952, King Farouk was overthrown in a coup d'état, and many of his belongings were sold through a Sotheby’s public auction, including the 1933 Double Eagle. Once again, the United States government requested the return of the coin, and the Egyptian government planned to comply. However, the coin suspiciously disappeared and was not seen again in Egypt.

A Life magazine photograph of King Farouk examining his extensive coin collection (left), and the 1954 King Farouk “Palace Collection” Sotheby’s catalog (right).

After five decades on the trail of the seemingly lost 1933 Double Eagle, British coin dealer Stephen Fenton was arrested by US Secret Service during a sting operation at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. Fenton initially reported that he bought the coin at a shop but later changed his story. Under sworn testimony, he asserted the Double Eagle was from the collection of King Farouk, though this highly probable claim could not be verified. Charges against Fenton were dropped, and he defended his ownership of the coin in US court.

The case was settled in 2001, when it was agreed that ownership of the Double Eagle would revert to the United States, and the coin could then legally be sold at auction. The United States Treasury released a document to “issue and monetize” the coin, making it legal tender in the United States. On July 30, 2002, at Sotheby’s and Stack’s Rare Coins auction in New York, more than 700 people watched as six different bidders battled back and forth until the alleged King Farouk 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle sold for $7.59 million, plus $20 to officially monetize the coin. The buyer of that coin has remained anonymous for nearly two decades.

The historic Sotheby’s and Stack’s catalog of July 2002 says it all: 41 pages were devoted to the landmark coin sale (left). The Switt family business was opened by Israel Switt in 1932 at 130 S. 8th Street in Philadelphia. Today, the storefront is still open for business (right).

But the Gold Double Eagle story does not end there. At least nine more coins found their way to Philadelphia jeweler Israel Switt and into the hands of collectors in the ensuing decades. Unfortunately, all nine coins were retrieved by the US government and melted.

In 2003, a legal dispute over a small hoard of 1933 Saint-Gaudens Gold Double Eagles began. Joan Langbord, the daughter of Israel Switt, learned of a family safe deposit box containing the coins and voluntarily transferred them to the Secret Service and the US Mint in September 2004, ostensibly for authentication.

Working in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution, the United States Mint authenticated the coins in May 2005. However, authorities refused to return the coins to Langbord and instead initiated forfeiture proceedings. The coins were transported to the United States Bullion Depository in Fort Knox, Kentucky.

After the announcement that the US Secret Service had recovered and authenticated the coins, Langbord publicly claimed that she legally inherited the coins from her father. She threatened a federal lawsuit concerning the surrendered coins and retained the services of attorney Barry Berke, who represented British coin dealer Stephen Fenton after he was found with King Farouk’s 1933 Double Eagle.

According to various accounts, Israel Switt had many contacts and friends within the Philadelphia Mint, and reportedly had access to many parts of the minting process. It is believed that Switt obtained the prized 1933 Double Eagles through Mint cashier George McCann. One plausible theory is that, prior to melting, McCann swapped the previous year’s Double Eagles for the 1933 specimens, thus avoiding any discrepancies in accounting books and inventory lists.

The Langbords sued the US government in December 2006. On July 28, 2009, a judge ruled that the coins were unlawfully seized and ordered the government to file a forfeiture action. The government filed an amended complaint for forfeiture and declaratory judgment against the Langbords and the coins on November 10, 2010.

The government portrayed the Langbords’ 1933 Double Eagles as embezzled or stolen from the Mint and wrongfully retained. The Langbords argued that there was a brief window of opportunity to legitimately obtain 1933 Double Eagles from the Mint cashier, and that some pieces could have legally left the Philadelphia Mint.

Substantiating actions purported to have taken place in the 1930s and 1940s is nearly impossible. To this conviction, both sides contracted three experts each, including numismatic experts David Enders Tripp, who testified on behalf of the US government, and Roger Burdette, who was retained by the Langbords. If the Langbords won the lawsuit, it was estimated that the Double Eagles would each realize $2.5 million to $3.5 million at auction.

The complex case went to trial on July 8, 2011, in Philadelphia. All 10 of the 1933 Double Eagles were present for the jury to inspect. On July 20, 2011, after 10 days of heated deliberations, the jury unanimously decided that the Langbords’ 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles belonged to the US government. Although the Langbords were only seeking authenticity in 2004, legitimate ownership was challenged by federal authorities, and dealer Israel Switt was accused of illegally obtaining the coins during the Great Depression.

As for the fate of the coins, they have returned to the Bullion Depository in Fort Knox for safekeeping. For the ultimate fate of the coins, Assistant US Attorney Jacqueline Romero stated, “I don’t believe they’ll be melted down and that they will probably be displayed in some capacity.”

Director of the US Mint Office of Public Affairs Tom Jurkowsky corroborated the sentiment and declared, “A decision on where the coins will be stored or displayed has not been made. However, when the decision is made, the United States Mint will make an appropriate announcement. Until then, the pieces will remain at the United States Bullion Depository in Fort Knox.”

But fear not, coindexters. Those fabulous 1933s are being treated by the government as a heritage asset.

In a broader sense, could there be future challenges to a collector’s right to own coins not issued as legal tender? Could this scenario potentially jeopardize other legendary US rarities, such as the more-than-clandestine case surrounding the production of five 1913 Liberty Head Nickels?

Who will wear the golden crown next (week)?

Are there more 1933 Double Eagles not yet accounted for? Only time will tell, but for now, the 1933 Double Eagle that sold for a world-record price in 2002 at public auction has to take a back seat. The prestigious record as the most expensive gold coin ever sold at auction is now held by the 1787 Brasher Doubloon with EB on Wing, graded NGC MS65★. It made history when it sold for an astounding $9.36 million in January 2021.

But if one of the government’s heritage asset 1933 Double Eagles were to appear on the market, perhaps it could recapture the golden crown.

Until next time, be safe and happy collecting!

Jim Bisognani is an NGC Price Guide Analyst. He has written extensively on US coin market trends and values.

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