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THROUGH THE NUMISMATIC GLASS:
THE STORY OF THE RAREST UNITED STATES COIN EVER TO BE AUCTIONED

By Dr. THOMAS F. FITZGERALD

The occasion had all the pomp and ceremony befitting royalty. With great fanfare on the morning of March 19, 2002, an oak box was carried into the studio of Rockefeller Center in New York City, the home of the "Today Show." Protected inside the box was a 1933 specimen of the United States Saint-Gaudens double eagle, twenty-dollar gold coin. Testifying to its value, the coin was accompanied by U. S. Mint security officers, police officers of the City of New York, armored car security officers and security personnel from NBC.

The audience of NBC's "Today Show" was given a peek at the rarest United States coin ever to come on the auction block. Its sale will probably make the gold piece the world's most valuable, collectible coin. The twenty-dollar gold coin was present to complement an interview of U. S. Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore by host Matt Lauer.

Act 1-Stranger Than Fiction

When asked, many coin collectors will identify the 1804 silver dollar or the 1913 "Liberty" nickel as the rarest coins minted by the United States that may become a part of one's collection. In fact, neither answer would be correct. Not even close! On July 30, 2002, the rarest of all United States coins will be offered to the highest bidder at a joint auction conducted by Stacks at Sotheby's office in New York City, and will be sold in conjunction with the United States Mint. The auction will consist of only one lot, the 1933 gold coin. Upon its sale, the new owner will be given an official Certificate of Transfer by the United States government and it will be legitimate to own this coin and add it to a private collection. But we're getting ahead of the story.

Act II-The Story

The tale of the 1933 United States twenty-dollar gold piece is the kind of a story seen in movies, on television or in works of fiction. But the story is true!

The fact is, according to the 2002 55th edition of "A Guide Book of United States Coins" (the popular Red Book edited by Kenneth Bressett), 445,500 twenty-dollar gold coins dated 1933 were struck at the Philadelphia Mint bearing the Saint-Gauden's "walking liberty" type design.

However, on April 5, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt issued executive order 6260 prohibiting banks from paying out gold and gold certificates without permission. Gold imports and newly domestic gold could be sold, but only to the government. As a result of this action, all 1933 twenty-dollar double eagles (with the exception of two specimens for the national collection housed at the Smithsonian Institution) were ordered to be melted. The coin to be auctioned has been authenticated by the mint and was produced from the same set of dies, as were the two pieces in the national collection.

We now know that at least ten of these coins survived the melting pots and somehow got outside the mint. Since these ten coins were neither released into circulation nor given to any individuals, it has always been the belief of the government that these 1933 double eagles were "stolen" from the Philadelphia Mint.

Act III-Its Pedigree

Most numismatists believe the coin due to be auctioned was, at one time, a part of the coin collection of Egyptian King Farouk. His specimen was legally sent abroad under an export license granted by the Treasury Department in 1944. In the 1940s and 1950s, Treasury officials had confiscated nine other examples of this 1933-dated coin from private collections held in the United States.

Act IV The Auction of the King Farouk Collections

In 1954, Sotheby's Auction House of London auctioned the collections of the deposed King of Egypt. Included in the sales was the impressive coin collection of the former Egyptian monarch. The catalog included lot 185, a 1933 United States twenty-dollar gold coin. However, without explanation, the coin was withdrawn immediately prior to the sale and for many years rumors have circulated regarding the location of this coin. Over the next 40 years, many numismatists reported inspecting this coin with most believing it was held in Europe.

Act V-The Rare Gold Coin Resurfaces

On February 8, 1996, the 1933 dated United States twenty-dollar gold coin was seized by federal agents from British coin dealer Stephen Fenton in New York City. The agents had posed as potential buyers of this rare coin. After five years of litigation, an agreement was reached in January, 2001. It was agreed that the coin could be privately held after being sold, with the proceeds of such sale being equally divided between dealer Fenton and the United States Mint. All recognized that this would be the one and only specimen of this date double eagle ever to be sold by the United States Government.

Because this coin was never released into circulation, does it qualify as a regular issue of United States coinage or is it more like the 1804 silver dollars and the 1913 nickels that were never intended for our circulating coinage? In fact, the sale has been designed to make this coin appear as if it was sold by the Treasury Department for $20. Twenty dollars will be taken from the proceeds of the sale to pay for the coin.

ACT VI-What Is It Worth?

By the time many of you read this column, the coin will have been sold and you readers will know the answer to this question. However, this story is being written May 3, 2002, and the answer is one of speculation. The pre-sale estimates have ranged between $4 and $6 million but, due to its rarity and appeal, it may be worth twice the estimate or more to some individuals. It will be available to anyone with enough money anywhere in the world. When you consider that two individuals have paid a reported $20 million each to be taken into space by the Russians, it is possible that the coin will sell for many millions over the estimate.

Epilogue-Many Mysteries Remain

While many aspects of the story have been revealed, there are many more questions to be answered. The coin was struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1933. All of these twenty-dollar pieces (with the exception of two) were ordered to be destroyed following the President's executive order removing the nation from the gold standard. How did at least ten of the coins avoid the melting pot? Of course the disclosure of this information could cause legal problems for some individuals.

Was the coin the King Farouk specimen and how did it get from the mint in 1933 to the monarch's collection? In early 1944, prior to the government's discovery of the missing 10 specimens of the 1933 double eagle, the Royal Legation of Egypt presented a 1933 twenty-dollar gold piece to the Treasury Department seeking a license to export the coin to Egypt to become a part of the King's massive location. The Treasury Department issued an export license and the coin was added to the collection of the King Farouk.

Where was the coin from the time in 1954 when it was withdrawn from the auction of the King's collection until it resurfaced 42 years later when it was seized from British dealer Stephen Fenton? How did Mr. Fenton come to possess the coin? Was he the owner and why did he come to New York to attempt to sell the coin? He argued that the coin was legally exported and therefore legitimate to own. How did he get the coin if it had been returned to the United States by the Egyptian government when it was removed from the King Farouk Auction? Folks who are still alive concerning this mystery that began in 1933 and will come to an end in 2002 can answer many of these questions.