Some Controversial Numismatic Gold Coins

Given the high value that is placed on numismatic coins, mark – ups much beyond the gold content, there are many controversies surrounding some of these coins. While some may serve to enhance the value of the coin even further, some unveiled truths have cost collectors a fortune.

The Franklin Hoard: After 4 decades of uncertainty, the experts at the SPPN (Society of Private and Pioneer Numismatics) settled the debate on the Franklin Hoard, declaring the 1853 United States Assay office $20 gold coins to be transfer die forgeries in 2008. The forgeries first appeared during the late 1950s and numismatics Paul Franklin and John J Ford Jr. sold hundreds of these pieces as genuine pieces struck in the San Francisco mint. The Professional Numismatics Guild was able to rule them not to be proof but could not decide on the authenticity or the vintage of the coins that came to be known as the Franklin hoard. These coins are recognizable on close inspection by bag marks that appear on all the pieces despite the best efforts of the forgers to hide it with die polish.

$20 1933 Double Eagle: The double eagles were minted from 1849 – 1933 as currency all over the United States until president Franklin Roosevelt declared the meltdown during the great depression. The Saint Gaudens that were minted from 1907 – 1933 are some of the highest commanding coins in the world today, especially the1933 variety. This is because even as 445,000 coins were minted in 1933, they were never circulated and were believed to have been melted down. But gradually, it came to be known that some coins had somehow found their way, discretely, out of the mints. This only served to increase their value as collectibles. The latest such collection was found to be in the hands of a family in Philadelphia who claimed it to be an inheritance. After a long standing feud in the courts it was decided that since the coins were believed to having been stolen, they are a part of the US Treasury and were returned to the department. They are on display and are still said to be the most expensive coins in the world with each coin being worth more than $7.5 million.

Shipwreck recoveries like the Black Swan project in the North Atlantic Ocean has always led to controversy, such as when a ship sinks in foreign waters, all countries involved stake a claim. There is a great lack of jurisdiction in such matters and some people are even of the opinion that recovered gold should not be sold; it should be preserved as underwater cultural heritage in museums. So, while some controversies render the coin useless, counterfeit and forged others enhance its historical significance. Thus a collector needs to ensure that one is investing ones savings in coins only after having conducted extensive and through research.