In an incident that made all rare gold coin buyers sit up and take note, a range of ten $20 gold coins of rare mintage with a cumulative value of about $40 million are being considered to be the property of the American Treasury according to a Philadelphia Jury. This ruling denies ownership to the Philadelphia family who are in physical possession of the coins. These “Double Eagles”, which are now at Fort Knox had been in the possession of one Joan Langbord, 81 years of age. She was the daughter of Israel Switt, who was a jeweler by profession. According to government authorities, Switt had illegally usurped the coins way back in the 1930s.

This set of ten coins was among the 445,000 Double Eagle Coins minted in 1933, when they were only worth as much as their face value. These have an eagle motif on one face and the Goddess of Liberty on the other and were designed by the celebrated Augustus Saint Gaudens. In the year of the Great Depression, fearful Americans preferred not to trust the national banks and starting hoarding gold. This urged President Franklin Roosevelt to order the conversion of gold coins to cash, in a stated effort to save the identity of the American Banking System. He ordered that the freshly minted Double Eagles would have to be melted to bullion.

According to Jacqueline Romero, the Assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of Philadelphia, these 10 coins were stocked in a vault and were meant to be melted. However, they were no issuance. According to her, these coins were indeed stolen property. They might have been smuggled from the mint with the aid of insiders in the 1930s itself. Romero was certain that these coins did not pass through the front door. Although, Romero has acknowledged that the case established by the government was entirely based upon circumstantial evidence, it was overwhelming enough to prove the crime.

This case could be of specific interest to those buying gold coins of rare mintage through public auctions or otherwise. It is essential to verify the source of purchase, in order to ensure that you are purchasing a genuine rare gold coin and not a counterfeit or fake one.