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The $7.59 million 1933 Double Eagle
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The 1933 Double Eagle, the most valuable coin in the world, is now on display at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The only coin of its kind known to be in circulation, the 1933 Double Eagle fetched the record sum of $7.59 million at auction at Sotheby's New York last July, making it the most valuable coin ever minted.
The 1933 Double Eagle takes its place among 800 examples of coins and currency from around the globe spanning more than three thousand years that form the basis of the American Numismatic Society's exhibit "Drachmas, Doubloons and Dollars: The History of Money" now on display downtown at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
How a Single Coin Came to Be Worth a Mint
First publicly issued in 1850, the twenty-dollar Double Eagle gold piece was made from gold ore from the California Gold Rush. In 1907, the coin underwent a radical face-lift at the hands of famed American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens.
The Double Eagle was discontinued in 1933 by executive order, when President Franklin Roosevelt took the country off the gold standard in an attempt to right the course of the U.S. economy during the Great Depression. Ownership of the coin was strictly forbidden, and any coins in circulation were to be seized. In 1937, the U.S. Mint's stockpile of 1933 Double Eagle coins was destroyed (with the exception of two earmarked for historic preservation, which currently reside at the Smithsonian Institution), but several coins were stolen and circulated. All were later recovered - save one.
How the last 1933 Double Eagle survives to this day is part of the fascination with this rare coin. As the result of a Treasury Department oversight, Egypt was granted a license in 1944 to export a 1933 Double Eagle to be housed in the private collection of King Farouk, one of the greatest coin collectors of all time. In 1954, King Farouk's 1933 Double Eagle turned up in Cairo at a state-held auction of the deposed king's coin collection, but was later withdrawn - though not returned - at the request of the U.S. Treasury Department. The coin then disappeared.
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| The back of the Double Eagle coin |
In 1996, federal agents, posing as coin collectors, seized a 1933 Double Eagle from British coin dealer Stephen Fenton in a successful sting operation at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. While it cannot be proven with absolute certainly, it is believed that this coin is the same 1933 Double Eagle from King Farouk's prized collection.
In an historic settlement, the Double Eagle in question - which was minted legally, yet illegal to possess - was allowed to be privately owned, and was subsequently put up for auction. The coin was sold to an anonymous bidder at a Sotheby's auction on July 30 for the whopping sum of $7,590,020, prompting U.S. Mint director Henrietta Holsman Fore to proclaim the 1933 Double Eagle "the most valuable coin in the world."
"Drachmas, Doubloons and Dollars"
This American Numismatic Society exhibition charts the evolution of money throughout the world and highlights its significance as political propaganda, artwork and a reflection of particular social milieus. In addition to the 1933 Double Eagle, other highly valued objects include a Brasheer doubloon, the 1804 dollar, a Confederate States half-dollar, and the famous ultra high relief twenty-dollar gold piece designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Other items on display are a 7th Century B.C. Lydian electrum coin, shell money from Thailand, and a Romanian 2000-lei note commemorating the total solar eclipse of August 1999.
Exhibition hours are 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday at the Federal Reserve Bank, 33 Liberty Street (wheelchair access is available through the Maiden Lane entrance). Admission is free. For a guided tour, please call 212-720-6130 to make an appointment. For further information, please call the American Numismatic Society at 212-234-3130.
Take the 1 or 2 train to Wall Street or Fulton Street; the J or Z train to Fulton Street; or the 4, 5, A or C train to Broadway-Nassau.
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