This way,the beatifull shiny coin, started an exciting journey.
Unfortunately, unlike this coin, seven other double eagles didn’t have such a luck,, and were seized or voluntarily turned in to the Secret Service, in the first year of investigation, then ended its life at a melting pot at the Mint. An eighth coin was recovered the following year and met the same fate.
While the investigation was carried on, secret service officers manager to identify an alleged thief and his accompliance, during an interogation in 1945, Switt (the thief) had admitted to selling nine coin, however, he did’n’t remember how he go tinto possesion of them.
Although the 20 Dollars (double eagles) were issued in 1933, before Roosevelt's withdrawal order, so they may be legally owned by private citizens, it is estimated that no more than 40 exist, the rest having been melted, making them exceptionally rare.
Meantime a ninth coin was from collectors black market and destroyed in 1952.
Coming back, to one adventerus coin, it was obtained by a quite prominent person – King of Egypt: Farouk. He was well knowa t collectors environment and his huge collection consisted such things like: imperial Fabergé eggs, antique aspirin bottles, paperweights, postage stamps—and coins, in general over 8500 exhibits.
Due to strict adherence with the law, Farouk’s ministers applied to the United States Treasury Department for an export license for the coin, and just days before the mint theft was discovered, the license was granted, and the coin left U.S.
Algthough the Treasury Department attempted to work through diplomatic channels to request the return of the coin from Egypt, it were stormy times of World War II, and all their efforts were delayed for several years.
Unluckily for King Farouk, he was deposed in a coup d'etat in 1952, and a big amount of his possessions were made available for public auction – including the famous, I can say mystery double eagle coin.
The United States government requested the return of the coin, and the Egyptian government stated that it would comply with the request. However, the coin had a very different plans, it decided to dematerialize, just like a magic coins can do.
What happened with the coin for over forty years? Propably there are a very few people, who know it.
However in 1996, a double eagle surfaced again, it appeared when U.S. Secret Service agents acted a sting operation at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York and a British coin dealer Stephen Fenton was arrested by U.S.
As it is used to say, no one would lie with electrical wires attached to his balls, he admitted that the double eagle had come from the collection of King Farouk, anthought this fact couldn’t be verified.
Luckily for Fenton he defended his ownership of the coin in civil court and criminal charges against him were dropped.
Then the U.S. goverment started a five years court battle in order to retrieve the coin and bring it back to the U.S.
In 2001 after the civil court decision, the coin could then legally be sold at auction to the highest-bidding private owner, in this case it was obtained by Stuart Weitzman, then handed for safekeeping to The United States Treasury, transfered and secured in safe in Fort Knox.
Well, at last this amazing, magic coin came back to U.S. and found safe home, its propably living there till nowdays.
This is the story of the most famous 1933 Double Eagle… but at the begining of this post was written, that about 40 coins like that were stolen, what happened to the rest of them… well it will be revived in next article.
I hope you enjoyed it, have a good day.
