The 20 Dollar Double Eagle is a $20 dollar U.S. Gold coin which was issued in 1933, and exists in only small numbers.
450,000 of these 20 dollar double eagles were minted, but they were never really officially circulated.
This is because the use of gold dollars was ended in 1933.
U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that gold coins were no longer legal tender in the U.S. and
people had to turn in their gold for other currency forms accordiing to the "Emergency Bank Relief Act" of March 1933.
This was to end the 1930's bank crisis. The 20 Dollar Double Eagles were outlawed for regular circulation and illegal to possess.
Most of the $20 Dollar Double Eagles were melted down late in 1934.
Two remaining 1933 Double Eagle coins are on display at the National Museum of American History.
However, a number of these coins were produced and stolen (officials say 10 coins) by a U.S. Mint Cashier, George McCann,
and got out into the hands of collectors.
An official investigation was started by the secret service in 1944, when they realized that these coins had gotten out.
Seven of these coins were recorvered and turned over by 1945 and another was found in 1952 in Egypt (king Farouk had possession).
The 20 Dollar Double Eagle disappeared and then resurfaced again in London in 2001.
Stephen Fenton, a British Coin dealer had the coin, claimed ownership (he had purchased it with a lot of other U.S. Coins).
He was arrested, and then charges were dropped and he defended his ownership in 2001.
The 20 Dollar Double Eagle was returned to the U.S. Government and was issued the ONLY legal tender gold coin in the United States
so it could Now be legally sold at an auction. The coin was kept in a safe in the Treasury vault of the World Trade Center in N.Y.C.
until a court settlement was reached. It was transferred to Fort Knox........just 2 months prior to the September 11th attacks.
On July of 2002, the 1933 Double Eagle was sold at a Sotheby's auction at a sales price of $7.56 million to an anonymous bidder.
Half the $7.56 million was sent to the U.S. State Treasury (plus $20 to montize the coin), and Stephen Fenton was entitled to the other half .
The auction took only 9 minutes.
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