The 1933 Double Eagle Gold Coin is one of the rarest Double Eagle coins in the world, due to the fact that none ever made it into official circulation. This was because in 1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt passed a law that banned the ownership of gold coins in the United States for general circulation – a law that was passed just before the 1933 coins were struck. This meant that most were melted down or destroyed, leaving only a few surviving the period.
These coins are so rare that a 1933 Double Eagle Gold Coin actually holds the distinction of being the second most expensive US coin sold at auction, with one being bought for over $7.5 million. This is because there were only thought to be two in existence – both of which were owned by the US National Numismatic Collection. It was later discovered though that there were a few stolen by staff at the US Mint in 1933, of which 20 have so far been recovered. The most famous of these was the coin that was bought by King Farouk of Egypt, which was the subject of some diplomatic tension for about 20 years, until it was stolen in the 1950s. Despite the discovery of more coins, it is still classed as extremely rare.
The coin itself contains the standard images associated with most of the Double Eagle coins, in that it has a picture of Liberty on one side and a depiction of an eagle on the other. Around the edge of the coin the phrase “E Pluribus Unum” is written. It is a $20 coin and is made from 90% gold, with the other 10% being copper. This means that even without the coin being as rare as it is, it would still be worth a great deal of money. The diameter of the coin is 34.1mm, the thickness is 2.0mm and the weight of the coin should be exactly 1 ounce.
There is some controversy over the replicas of the coin that were released in 2004 by the National Collectors Mint. These coins were not marked as replicas and as such many people purchased them thinking that they had the real thing. This means that collectors must be careful that they are not duped by these coins. Recent replicas made by this organization do have “copy” stamped over the face of the coin though, which is in line with government regulation.