1933 Double Eagles at the World’s Fair of Money

In what promises to be one of the most significant exhibition milestones in modern numismatic history, the U.S. Mint will display all 11 government-owned 1933 $20 Saint-Gaudens double eagles (gold $20) together for the first time at the ANA’s World’s Fair of Money® in Pittsburgh. On August 28, convention attendees will have an unprecedented opportunity to view these legendary gold pieces side-by-side in a special feature exhibit on the bourse floor. 

“Mint history is American history,” U.S. Mint Director Paul Hollis says. “As America celebrates its semiquincentennial, we reflect on our nation’s storied past. These 11 coins were minted during a time of hardship and strife, yet nearly a century later, they endure as treasured emblems of growth, resilience, and opportunity.”

Admission to the World’s Fair of Money is free for ANA members and children 12 and under, and $10 for nonmember adults Tuesday, August 25 through Friday, August 28. Admission is free for everyone on Saturday, August 29. 

A Storied Coin

In March 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued a proclamation prohibiting the use of gold coins for payments. Subsequently, 445,500 1933 double eagles struck at the Philadelphia Mint—but never issued or released to the public as legal tender—were sent to the melting pot. The only specimens to leave the mint lawfully were two pieces given to the Smithsonian Institution for preservation in the National Numismatic Collection. However, those are not the only specimens known today.

In 1944 a Secret Service investigation that took a decade led to the discovery of nine stolen pieces, which were then also melted. Another example was recovered in 1996, with that case ending in a settlement under which that single coin was monetized and issued by the U.S. Mint. The piece sold at auction in 2002 for millions of dollars, with an additional $20 paid in cash to monetize the piece and render it legal to own. The anonymous purchaser sold the coin again at auction on June 8, 2021, establishing a new record for the world’s most valuable coin at $18.9. million.

Ten more specimens surfaced in 2004, this time in the possession of the family of the Philadelphia jeweler who had facilitated the distribution of the stolen double eagles in the 1930s. Litigation ensued, and in 2011, the judge declared that the 1933 double eagles were unlawfully removed from the mint and remain the property of the United States.

Following the 2011 trial, a private citizen voluntarily surrendered the mint’s 11th piece. The owner had acquired the coin on the open market and had been unaware that private ownership was unlawful. Like the other 1933 double eagles recovered by the United States since 1944, this specimen traces its provenance to that same Philadelphia jeweler. It will be displayed at the World’s Fair of Money for the first time with the coining facility’s other 10 specimens.