The world-famous 1933 Double Eagle from the King Farouk collection is now legal for private ownership. After decades of controversy and years of legal battles the US Justice Department has reached an agreement with rare coin dealer Steve Fenton of London, England to allow private ownership of the ultra-rarity. The out-of-court settlement allows Fenton to keep 50% of the proceeds from the future sale of the coin, while the US government will keep the other half for the "Enterprise Fund" of the US Mint.
The Secret Service seized the coin from Fenton in New York City in 1996, claiming that it had been stolen from the US Mint. The charges were only days away from being proved false when the government agreed to a settlement.
The Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) assisted Fenton in the preparation of his defense, supplying a "friend of the court" brief on his behalf. "The PNG was happy to support Mr. Fenton in this case," said Fred Weinberg, PNG president. The Justice Department agreed to the settlement only four days before the case was to go to trial as evidence piled up in Fenton's favor.
"I am thrilled that the US government has agreed to join me in offering this unique 1933 Double Eagle for sale to the world's leading collectors and dealers," Fenton said.
The world of numismatics is swirling with rumors about the who/what/when/where and how of the impending sale of the coin. "No decision has been made about the dispersal of the coin," said Weinberg. "I am not involved in the selection of the auction company, of course, as that is at the discretion of Mr. Fenton and the Justice Department, but I am almost certain that it will be 30-90 days before a decision is reached."
The world's most valuable coin?
"From the beginning, I felt this historic coin should be made available for public sale. It is America's most beautiful coin design, and this is certainly the world's most valuable rare coin," Fenton said.
The speculation about the "world's most valuable" status is reinforced by a highly unusual segment of the agreement that says that the Fenton-Farouk specimen is the only 1933 $20 legal for private ownership.
Nine examples of the 1933 $20 were seized and destroyed in the 1940s and '50s, but the Farouk specimen was allowed to be kept as a collectible and an export license for the coin was issued in 1944. The government then changed its mind and requested the return of the coin. When the Farouk collection was auctioned in 1954 the 1933 $20 was removed from the sale but not returned to the US.
Where is the coin today? It's in transit from the Manhattan Secret Service offices to US Mint headquarters as of January 30, 2001.
Bruce Amspacher has been a professional writer since the 1950s and a professional numismatist since the 1960s. He won the OIPA sportswriting award in 1958 and again in 1959, then spent eight years in college studying American Literature. This background somehow led him to become a professional numismatist in 1968. Since then he has published hundreds of articles on rare coins in dozens of publications as well as publishing his own newsletter, the “Bruce Amspacher Investment Report,” for more than a decade. His areas of expertise include Liberty Seated dollars, Morgan and Peace dollars, United States gold coins, sports trivia, Western history, modern literature and the poetry of Emily Dickinson. In 1986 he was a co-founder of the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS).
|
| 1933 $20 Saint Gaudens |
|
Click here to email this article to a friend.