A brief history of coinage
Gold Double Eagle Coins
In February 1849, Congress authorized the striking of $20 gold coins designed by Chief-Engraver James Barton Longacre. Between 1850 and 1933, U.S. mints turned out more than 165 million Double Eagles. They were called "double eagles" because prior to 1850, "eagles" with a denomination of $10 were the largest denomination of US coinage, thus $20 were "double" the amount of the $10 coins.
Struck on March 12, 1850 (although the date is struck as 1849), this is one of the two
known trial pattern coins; the second has never been found, making this one of a kind.
This was the very first of the double eagles, issued from 1850 to 1907. $10 eagles began production in 1795, just two years after the first U.S. mint opened. Often the name, "eagle" is thought to be a nickname but is actually the official name for "eagles", "half-eagles", etc., in the act of congress that originally authorized them.
The California Gold Rush created a constant flow of gold so instead of striking gold in traditional $10 pieces, the mint decided to also issue larger denominations. In 1849, the mint produced two proof pieces. The first resides in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. The second was presented to then Treasury Secretary William M. Meredith and later sold as part of his estate. The present location of this second coin remains unknown.
The Gold Double Eagles remained the premier gold coin in the the United States until President Franklin Roosevelt's 1933 Executive Order 6102, which required Americans to turn in their gold coins and bullion. This stopped the production of gold coinage and made it illegal to own the metal except for "gold coins having a recognized value to collectors of rare and unusual coins" which meant coin collectors could retain their pieces.
After World War I, financial instability was experienced throughout the world which caused many people to hoard gold and this ultimately affected the U.S. gold reserves. The problem was worsened in the 1930's by a banking crisis that led to the closing of all banks from March 6th to the 9th.
It because of these crises that President Franklin D. Roosevelt legislated the Emergency Bank Relief Act of March 9, 1933 and the Gold Reserve Act of January 1934. This succeeded in putting an end to the crises and allowing banks to re-open, but gold had to be turned in and melted down, thereby discontinuing the domestic gold standard.
Roosevelt's action is often referred to as a confiscation, but technically was a call-in because those turning in their Double Eagles were given twenty dollars in paper money which had equal purchasing power at that time.
Double eagles were routinely minted through 1933, although few of the very last years' coinages were released before Roosevelt's gold recall legislation. These pieces will have very high prices today.
In the spring of 1933, 455,500 double eagles were struck but never released for circulation although some were stolen from the government and over the years many of those were recovered. Two of these were presented by the United States Mint to the U.S. National Numismatic Collection and are on display in the Money and Medals Hall of the National Museum of American History.
The Gold Double Eagle coin measures 34 mm in diameter and contains .9675 ounce of gold in an alloy of 90% gold and 10% copper. The official gross weight of the Gold Double Eagle coin is 516 grains.
Regular issue Gold Double Eagle coins are of two major types. They were first minted with the Liberty Head design and later the St. Gaudens gold coins. These can further be classified in six minor varieties as follows:Liberty Head (Coronet) (1849–1907)Type 1 - Liberty Head, no motto, "Twenty D." (1849–1866)
Type 2 - Liberty Head, with motto, "Twenty D." (1866–1876)
Type 3 - Liberty Head, with motto, "Twenty Dollars" (1877–1907)Saint Gaudens 1907–1933Saint Gaudens, High Relief, Roman Numerals, no motto (1907)
Saint Gaudens, Low Relief, Arabic Numerals, no motto (1907–1908)
Saint Gaudens, Low Relief, Arabic Numerals, with motto (1908–1933)
Liberty Head (Coronet) (1849 - 1907)Clicking on the images below will open a larger image in a new window: Designed by Chief-Engraver James Barton Longacre, Liberty Coronet double eagles were the first design to be minted in $20 coinage. Longacre’s left-facing Liberty on the obverse is said to be modeled after a Hellenistic sculpture - the Crouching Venus.
A little over a decade later, at the beginning of the 1861 minting, Assistant Engraver Anthony C. Paquet made a small modification to the reverse of the coin by using tall, narrow letters. However, when coining began with his new design, it became obvious that the border was too narrow compared with the obverse for proper striking and stacking, and striking at Philadelphia was immediately stopped. Before orders reached New Orleans and San Francisco mints to cease striking using the Paquet reverse dies, it was already too late to prevent the issue of over 19,000 these pieces.
In 1866, the motto "In God We Trust" was added to the Liberty Coronet double eagle resulting in the second subtype. Chief-Engraver James Barton Longacre died on January 1, 1869. William Barber, his successor, and Barber’s son, Charles, made small variations in the design which in 1877, included a change on the reverse from "TWENTY D." to "TWENTY DOLLARS" resulting in the third subtype. Also, a change in the angle of the truncation of the neck on Liberty provided additional space for the placement of the date.
On December 22, 1907, the experimental high-relief Saint Gaudens double eagle was struck for the first time. President Theodore Roosevelt was a great admirer of ancient Greek coins and wanted to bring the same beauty to U.S. coinage. For this, he approached the sculptor, Augustus Saint Gaudens, to redesign the $10 and $20 coins who chose an advancing figure of Lady Liberty for the obverse and a flying eagle on the reverse. St. Gaudens' mark appears on the coins' obverse beneath the date.
Charles Barber, chief engraver of the US Mint at the time, did not like the new design as it took eleven strikes to make the high relief details, and because of the high relief, the coins did not stack very well. These coins are easily sold for over $10,000 even in circulated grades. Only 12,367 were minted in all. In the highest grades, prices for each one can reach half a million dollars in value.
The mint experimented with a reduced diameter of the coin to about the size of a checker while making it thicker in an attempt to keep the high relief. Most were destroyed with the exception of two which are in the Mint's collection. This is because it was learned that the consent of Congress was required to change the diameter of US coins.
St. Gaudens redesigned the coin for a lower relief, but it wasn't long before the design was again flattened for circulating coins. Some of the high relief coins did find their way into circulation except for the years of 1917 - 1919 when no coins were struck. Other than those dates, the coins were minted continuously until 1933. One of the high relief coins was given to President Roosevelt from Augustus Saint-Gaudens as a gift and in 1967, Cornelius van Schaak Roosevelt, a nephew of the President, donated it to the National Numismatic Collection.
St. Gaudens lived to finish only the double eagle and the Indian Eagle. These were considered to be two of the most extraordinary pieces of art on any American coin. The double eagle design has been voted the best American gold coin design. In fact, you may recognize the St. Gaudens design on the popular American Eagle gold bullion coins that were instituted beginning in 1986.
When the Saint Gaudens double eagle was first produced, several changes were made. For example, in 1907, the coins depicted the date in Roman numerals, but this was changed later that year to Arabic numerals. (1907 double eagles and 1986-1991 gold American Eagles are the only coins depicting Roman numerals for the date on American coinage.)
Also, the "In God We Trust" motto was not on the original design because President Roosevelt felt that it was not appropriate to display the name of God on money. However, the motto was added in 1908 by an act of Congress.
In 1912, the St. Gaudens' design was changed again with the addition of two stars along the rim when Arizona and New Mexico became states, increasing the number of stars from 46 to 48.
1933 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle 
Although the the 1933 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle is not a separate subtype, it is noteworthy to mention here because of the history associated with this year of the double eagle. 
1933 is the last year double eagles were minted and 445,500 pieces total were struck although none were supposed to have circulated because of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Executive Order 6102 which made the circulation and private possession of United States gold coins illegal for general circulation - with an exemption for collectible coins.
Most were melted down before ever reaching circulation. Because they were never officially issued, the 1933 double eagles are supposed to remain in possession of the US government. The only exception is the one auctioned on July 30, 2002 for an amazing $7,590,020 (the record for highest price paid at auction for a single U.S coin). It was originally legally obtained by King Farouk of Egypt in 1944. (More on this below.) Two of the 1933 double eagles were presented by the United States Mint to the U.S. National Numismatic Collection and are on display in the Money and Medals Hall of the National Museum of American History and should have been the only two in existence.
But some of the 1933 double eagles were stolen, possibly by the Mint Cashier, George McCann. At least nine of the coins are known to have ended up in the hands of collectors by way of Philadelphia jeweler Israel Switt.
Israel Switt had many contacts and friends within the Philadelphia Mint, and reportedly had access to many points of the minting process. It has been theorized that McCann swapped 1932 double eagles for the 1933 pieces before they were to be melted down, thereby avoiding any discrepancies in accounting and inventory. And it was through his personal relationship with George McCann that Israel Switt obtained the stolen 1933 Double Eagles.
It has also been further suggested that Switt could have obtained the 1933 coins legally by exchanging gold bullion for coins. There were three weeks in March 1933 when new double eagles could have possibly been legally obtained because striking of the double eagles began on March 15th, but it was not until April 5th that President Roosevelt's executive order to ban them went into effect. Also, on March 6, 1933, the Secretary of the Treasury ordered the Director of the Mint to pay gold only under license issued by the Secretary, and the U.S. Mint Cashier's daily statements do not show that any 1933 Double Eagles were paid out although this may have allowed for an exchange.
When it was discovered that 1933 gold eagles had gotten into the hands of the public, the Secret Service launched an investigation in 1944 and seven coins were recovered that year. By 1952, only one was thought to remain in public possession.
But in 2005, the U.S. Mint discovered another ten unauthorized 1933 Double Eagle coins when private collector Joan S. Langbord contacted the mint to surrender the coins. She claimed she legally inherited the coins from her father, none other than Israel Switt, a suspect in the original theft. She voluntarily surrendered the coins which were authenticated in 2005 by the U.S Mint working with the Smithsonian Institution and the coins are now held at Fort Knox.
However, because the U.S. government did not compensate her for turning in the coins, she is planning a federal suit to get the coins back. The Mint did announce that the coins may be saved for display in August 2005, but as of December, 2007, no formal statement has been made.
In the 1970's President Ford signed legislation that made it legal for the public to once again own gold bullion. Before 1974, any 1933 double eagles recovered were considered gold bullion and therefore melted down but today, any that are recovered now can be preserved although the Mint maintains that they cannot be considered legal possession by a member of the public since they were never officially issued and should be considered property of the government.
King Farouk's Double Eagle 
King Farouk of Egypt was known to be a collector of many rare and valuable items from around the world and one of these included - you guessed it - one of the 1933 double eagles. It was in 1944 that Farouk purchased the coin by the strictest legal means. His ministers even applied to the U.S. for an export license for the coin. It was perfect timing because the license was granted only days before the theft of double eagles from the Mint was discovered. The Treasury Department requested the return of the coin through diplomatic channels the ongoing World War II resulted in many delays.
On July 23, 1952, the Free Officers Movement under Muhammad Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser staged a military coup d'etat that launched the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 and Farouk was forced to abdicate.
Many of his possessions were put up for public auction including the 1933 double eagle coin. Although the U.S. again requested return of the coin and the Egyptian government said it would cooperate, it disappeared and was not seen again until over 40 years later...allegedly.
It was found in possession of British coin dealer, Stephen Fenton in a sting operation at Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York. At first he said he purchased the coin from a customer at his shop, but later under testimony swore that it came from King Farouk's collection although this could not be verified.
The charges against Fenton were dropped as he defended his ownership of the coin, but in July 2001 the case was finally settled when it was agreed that ownership was to be transferred to the U.S. government and the coin was temporarily placed in the treasury vaults of the World Trade Center.
The U.S. Treasury then issued a document to "issue and monetize" the coin which made it the only legal tender gold coin in the United States and it could now be legally sold at auction. In July of 2001, the coin was transferred to Fort Knox. In September, the World Trade Center where the coin was temporarily stored was destroyed by the 9-11 terrorist attacks.
This brings us to the record for the highest amount paid at auction for a single U.S coin almost a year later. At an auction by Sotheyby's on July 30th, 2002, an anonymous bidder bought the coin for 6.6 million dollars. This was to include an additional 15% buyer's premium (and the $20 fee to monetize the face value coin, making it legal U.S. currency) bringing the total to an astronomical $7,590,020!
Half of the price paid was given to the U.S. Treasury while Stephen Fenton was given the other half. The auction took less than nine minutes.
The 1933 Gold Double Eagle was Never Officially Issued
The U.S. Gold Double Eagle, Saint-Gaudens type, had been issued from 1907 until 1932. Although 445,500 Double Eagles had been minted with the 1933 date, none were released into circulation because of changes made to currency laws during the Great Depression. In an effort to end the run on the banks and stabilize the economy, President Franklin Roosevelt took America off the gold standard. Not only were no more gold coins to be issued for circulation, people had to turn in the ones they had.
The 1933 Double Eagles are Ordered to be Destroyed
It became illegal for private citizens to own gold coins, unless they clearly had a collectible value. This law was enacted during desperate times to prevent the hoarding of gold currency. Since there would be no more gold currency issued in the U.S., the Mint had melted down the 1933 run of Gold Double Eagles and converted them to gold bullion bars by 1937.
Some of the Double Eagles Escaped the Melt Down
Two of the 1933 specimens were given by the Mint to the U.S. National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institute. These were the only two legal specimens to ever become part of a coin collection; however, by 1952, the Secret Service had confiscated 8 more 1933 Double Eagles! How did they leave the Mint? Why weren't they melted down?
Was the 1933 Double Eagle Switched for Another Coin?
We may never know for certain how these coins left the Mint, but there is a general consensus among scholars that a Mint cashier by the name of George McCann exchanged about 20 1933's doomed for destruction and replaced them with earlier dated Double Eagles. This way, the accounting books would balance and nobody would realize that anything was amiss.
What we do know for sure is that a Philadelphia area jeweler by the name of Israel Switt came into possession of at least 19 of the coins.
The Coin of a King
Israel Switt sold at least 9 of the 1933 Double Eagles privately to collectors, one of which found its way into the collection of King Farouk of Egypt. When the Secret Service discovered that these coins had surfaced, they confiscated them all because they were considered to be stolen property of the U.S. Mint. However, King Farouk had legally exported his coin before the theft was discovered, and the Secret Service was unable to recover his specimen through diplomatic channels.
The King's Specimen is Recovered in a Sting Operation
After King Farouk was deposed in 1952, his 1933 Double Eagle briefly appeared on the market, but when it became clear that U.S. authorities still wanted to confiscate it, it vanished again! More than 40 years later, British coin dealer Stephen Fenton showed up with it in New York, and the Secret Service finally seized it during a sting operation during which they purportedly negotiated to purchase the coin.
The 1933 Double Eagle is Nearly Destroyed by Terrorists
Fenton fought a several year-long legal battle in the U.S. courts over ownership of the coin, during time which it was stored in the Treasury Vaults at the World Trade Center. A mere 2 months before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the lawsuit was settled and the Double Eagle was moved to Fort Knox. Fenton and the U.S. Mint had come to a compromise: the coin would be sold at auction, with the proceeds split between the Fenton and the Mint.
Legal Tender at Last - and the Most Valuable Coin in the World
The 1933 Double Eagle sold at auction on July 30, 2002, for $6.6 million, plus the 15% buyer's fee, which brought the total cost to the buyer to $7,590,000, plus $20 to monetize the coin and compensate the Mint for the $20 it believes it lost when the coin was thought to have been stolen. The buyer chose to remain anonymous, so once again we don't know where the Farouk specimen is, or when it might suddenly show up again. One thing is for sure: the Secret Service can't confiscate it any more!
Ten More Specimens Hang in Limbo
In September of 2004, Joan Langbord, one of Israel Switt's heirs, discovered ten more specimens of the 1933 Double Eagle amongst his effects. Apparently unaware of the legal status of these coins (or perhaps just a bit too trusting of the government) she sent all ten specimens to the U.S. Mint to have them authenticated. The Secret Service declared the coins to be seized, and now Langbord is fighting the government over ownership while the specimens languish at Fort Knox.
Is the 1933 Double Eagle Still the World's Most Valuable Coin?
It will be interesting to see, should the 10 Langbord coins ever come to market, if the 1933 Double Eagle will retain its place as the world's highest priced coin when the number of available specimens increases ten-fold.
Unauthorized replicas
In 2004, National Collectors Mint released gold-plated replicas of the 1933 Double Eagle, ostensibly under the authority of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. Commonwealth. NCM advertised and certified the coins as "legal tender of the CNMI," a bogus designation.
The replica coins did not include any "REPLICA" or "COPY" indications on their faces. The design of the replica coins match the original coins in concept of design, though were not physical replicas. The only difference in basic design between the NCM replicas and the original Double Eagle was the addition of the CNMI territorial seal under the U.S. motto on the reverse.
After some controversy over the nature and marketing of these replicas, the coins were reissued with the word "COPY" stamped across the eagle's stomach.
