The 1933 double eagles (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. In August 2005, the U.S. Secret Service 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.
The federal government seized the coins in 2004 when the daughter and grandsons of the late jeweler Israel Switt brought them to the U.S. Mint to be authenticated. This are certified coins, authenticated by the United States Mint in 2005, working with the Smithsonian Institution, as being genuine 1933 Double Eagles.
I have been following this case since early this week. The U.S government argues that none of the coins were removed legally from the Mint when President Franklin D. Roosevelt abandoned the gold standard in 1933. The stockpiled double eagles minted that year and waiting to go into circulation were instead melted down, although a few apparently survived. The judge's order released Wednesday calls for the government to initiate a forfeiture hearing by Sept. 28. The hearing would likely amount to a trial in which the government would have to prove Switt's family never legally possessed them, a family lawyer said.
Lawyer Barry Berke argues that some coins could have left the Mint legally through a gold exchange program in place at the time that attracted jewelers like Switt.
"There was a period of time where it was permissible to exchange gold coins for gold bullion," said Berke, who represents Switt's daughter, Joan S. Langbord of Philadelphia, and her sons, Roy Langbord of New York City and David Langbord of Virginia Beach, Va.
According the lawsuit, Joan Langbord, who in her 80s continues to run her father's business, I Switt, on South Eighth Street, found the coins while inspecting a bank safety deposit box in 2003. Israel Switt died in 1990.
The following year, they asked the Mint to authenticate them and suggested they were open to a negotiated settlement, perhaps akin to the 50-50 split reached in a previous case involving one double eagle coin.
A judge in Philadelphia has ruled that the federal government must return 10 extremely rare gold coins to the family of a late Center City jeweler or outline its case for keeping them in a forfeiture filing. U.S. District Judge Legrome Davis issued the ruling Tuesday in the case of the 10 1933 "double eagle" gold coins, which experts say could fetch millions at auction. The lawyer representing the family said the coins are thought to be the most valuable gold coins in the world.
"The Langbord family reserved all their rights to the coin, and the government said it was government property stolen in the 1930s from the U.S. Mint and therefore they had a right to take it," said the family's attorney, Barry Berke.
"The judge said what the government did was a violation of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments," Berke said.
Michael White, a spokesman for the Mint, declined to comment yesterday because the case is still being litigated.
"We're very pleased with the ruling. We hope and expect that the Langbord family will recover their property," Berke said. "What we don't know is whether that will happen immediately or after a forfeiture proceeding."
The Landbords' suit noted that in the previous seizure of another 1933 double eagle, the government split the proceeds with the owner after the coin sold for a record $7.59 million at a 2002 auction. The suit also noted that the government allowed King Farouk of Egypt to own and export a 1933 double eagle in 1944 without questioning how it came into circulation.
It is a shocking news to me when I read early yesterday morning that a judge in Philadelphia has ruled that the federal government must return 10 extremely rare gold coins to the family of a late Center City jeweler or outline its case for keeping them in a forfeiture filing. The collection could be worth nearly $80 million or more. A comparable double eagle sold for $7.59 million in 2002 — believed to be the highest price ever paid for a coin. The family has previously asked for the coins' return or a settlement of up to $40 million.
The federal government seized the coins in 2004 when the daughter and grandsons of the late jeweler Israel Switt brought them to the U.S. Mint to be authenticated. This are certified coins, authenticated by the United States Mint in 2005, working with the Smithsonian Institution, as being genuine 1933 Double Eagles.
I have been following this case since early this week. The U.S government argues that none of the coins were removed legally from the Mint when President Franklin D. Roosevelt abandoned the gold standard in 1933. The stockpiled double eagles minted that year and waiting to go into circulation were instead melted down, although a few apparently survived. The judge's order released Wednesday calls for the government to initiate a forfeiture hearing by Sept. 28. The hearing would likely amount to a trial in which the government would have to prove Switt's family never legally possessed them, a family lawyer said.
Lawyer Barry Berke argues that some coins could have left the Mint legally through a gold exchange program in place at the time that attracted jewelers like Switt.
"There was a period of time where it was permissible to exchange gold coins for gold bullion," said Berke, who represents Switt's daughter, Joan S. Langbord of Philadelphia, and her sons, Roy Langbord of New York City and David Langbord of Virginia Beach, Va.
According the lawsuit, Joan Langbord, who in her 80s continues to run her father's business, I Switt, on South Eighth Street, found the coins while inspecting a bank safety deposit box in 2003. Israel Switt died in 1990.
The following year, they asked the Mint to authenticate them and suggested they were open to a negotiated settlement, perhaps akin to the 50-50 split reached in a previous case involving one double eagle coin.
A judge in Philadelphia has ruled that the federal government must return 10 extremely rare gold coins to the family of a late Center City jeweler or outline its case for keeping them in a forfeiture filing. U.S. District Judge Legrome Davis issued the ruling Tuesday in the case of the 10 1933 "double eagle" gold coins, which experts say could fetch millions at auction. The lawyer representing the family said the coins are thought to be the most valuable gold coins in the world.
"The Langbord family reserved all their rights to the coin, and the government said it was government property stolen in the 1930s from the U.S. Mint and therefore they had a right to take it," said the family's attorney, Barry Berke.
"The judge said what the government did was a violation of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments," Berke said.
Michael White, a spokesman for the Mint, declined to comment yesterday because the case is still being litigated.
"We're very pleased with the ruling. We hope and expect that the Langbord family will recover their property," Berke said. "What we don't know is whether that will happen immediately or after a forfeiture proceeding."
The Landbords' suit noted that in the previous seizure of another 1933 double eagle, the government split the proceeds with the owner after the coin sold for a record $7.59 million at a 2002 auction. The suit also noted that the government allowed King Farouk of Egypt to own and export a 1933 double eagle in 1944 without questioning how it came into circulation.
It is a shocking news to me when I read early yesterday morning that a judge in Philadelphia has ruled that the federal government must return 10 extremely rare gold coins to the family of a late Center City jeweler or outline its case for keeping them in a forfeiture filing. The collection could be worth nearly $80 million or more. A comparable double eagle sold for $7.59 million in 2002 — believed to be the highest price ever paid for a coin. The family has previously asked for the coins' return or a settlement of up to $40 million.
I can only wish this double eagles coin will be in my collection one day. Any recovered 1933 Double Eagle, as gold bullion, was destined to be melted. 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. Do you have the same dreams? Share them here via comment or e-mail.
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press
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Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press
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