From Saint to King: The Story Behind the Legendary 1933 Double Eagle
For those interested in numismatics, there is no coin more universally recognizable than the 1933 Saint-Gaudens Gold Double Eagle. Although there are thirteen known examples of this distinguished coin, only one is able to be owned in private hands. Last week on June 8th, the single acquirable 1933 Saint-Gaudens Gold Double Eagle sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $18,872,250, completely shattering the all-time record for a coin sale. Prior to this sale, this legendary coin was last sold in 2002 for $7,590,020. So, what exactly is the story behind this fabled coin and why is it so valuable?
It all started in 1933, with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 6102, which recalled gold from American citizens to be melted down into bullion. The first coins melted down as a result of this executive order were those stored in the vaults of the US Mint. Since America was in the midst of the Great Depression at this time, the most recently struck gold coins were never released into the public to be circulated. So even though 445,500 of these 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles were already struck by the US Mint, almost every single example of the coin was completely eradicated during this mass melt. There were, however, a small handful of these coins that managed to escape the mint prior to being melted down.
By the 1940s, some of these examples began showing up in auctions and collections, only to be seized by the Secret Service, who claimed that all of these coins were property of the US government. Even with the Secret Service reclaiming many examples of this issue, one managed to escape into a world-renowned collection owned by King Farouk of Egypt.
By 1952, however, King Farouk had been dethroned by a military coup, and his valuable collection was captured. Eventually, this famous collection was catalogued and sold under the name of “The Palace Collection” by Sotheby’s. Back during the sale of this collection, catalogues were nothing close to what they are now. Today, a catalogue can have multiple pages dedicated to a single coin- sometimes even a whole book, but back in the day catalogues were a little more rudimentary. In this case, the iconic 1933 Saint-Gaudens Gold Double Eagle was listed very innocuously as a $20 gold-piece from 1933.
Even though this coin was well-hidden, the US government was keen enough to pick it out of the catalogue. Like they did with the examples that showed up in the 1940s, they seized this coin- or at least attempted to. Of course, Sotheby’s ended up pulling this coin from the auction, not wanting to create any issues with the United States government. Despite the United States intervening with the auction, the coin somehow managed to escape yet again.
It wasn’t until the 1990s that this 1933 Saint resurfaced again, this time in the possession of the coin dealer Stephen Fenton. As a well-versed numismatist, Fenton realized that advertising or placing this coin in a public auction would instantly attract the attention of the government. Instead, he started looking for a buyer through his own personal network of connections, eventually meeting a suitor for this coin willing to pay $100,000 for it.
Their meeting place was set to be the Waldorf Astoria in New York. To Fenton’s surprise, it turned out that this exchange was actually an undercover sting operation. Fenton was immediately arrested, and the coin was taken from his possession.
While at first, this seems like a tragedy, it truly became a massive stroke of luck for Fenton in the end. After contacting a lawyer, Fenton was able to locate an export license from the US government allowing the possession of this coin by King Farouk of Egypt. In essence, this export license negated all claims by the US government stating that the coin was their property. In the end, the United States had no other option other than to allow Fenton to auction off the coin, but only under the stipulation that the government would keep half of the money. As proof that this 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle was legally allowed to switch hands among private individuals, a certificate was issued to the coin.
As mentioned before, this sale took place in 2002, racking up a grand total of $7,590,020. Interestingly, the auction was set to $7,590,000, however, the US Mint needed to balance their books for that missing coin from 1933. So, there was an extra $20 tagged onto the final sale price, equating out to that total of $7,590,020.
As for the other 1933 Saint-Gaudens Gold Double Eagles known to exist, ten of them were found in a safety deposit box in 2004 by Joan Switt Langboard, a descendent of notorious jeweler Israel Switt. Langbord, voluntarily handed these coins over to the government, hoping to eventually reclaim them back in a lawsuit. Unfortunately for Langbord, there was evidence proving that Israel Switt had illegally obtained the ten 1933 Saints and therefore needed to be returned to the government. Subsequently, those ten coins were given to the Smithsonian Institution and are now housed in The National Numismatic Collection for all to see.
While Rare Collectibles TV has never had the honor of selling the 1933 Saint-Gaudens Gold Double Eagle, our Private Advisory Coin Team has placed a handful of the rarest Saint-Gaudens available to collectors this year. Among these coins is a 1930-S, of which only 50 to 75 examples are known to exist, a 1931-P, of which only 100 to 150 examples are known to exist, and a 1931-D, of which only 100 to 150 examples are known to exist.
Are you searching for a stunning numismatic rarity to add to your collection? Just contact our Private Advisory Coin Team and they will help find it free of charge! Give them a call at 1-800-778-0624!
