1933 Double Eagle Ruthenium-Plated Replica Coin

In 1933, with America caught in the grip of the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt made private ownership of gold illegal. The government confiscated all Gold Double Eagles minted in 1933 and melted them down into plain gold bars. Only a few coins escaped this fate. Two were sent to Smithsonian, while a handful were secreted away by a Mint employee. Oneby- one, federal agents were able to locate - and confiscate - most of the coins. However, one resurfaced in 1944 as part of an Egyptian king's coin collection, but political considerations prevented the Secret Service from claiming it. After the king's death, the coin ended up in America's possession where it was stored at the World Trade Center, only to be moved just days before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In 2002, it sold at auction for an astonishing 7.59 million dollars, making it the most expensive gold coin in history.

Available exclusively from American Mint, this shiny ruthenium-layeredcoin is meticulously reproduced from the most valuable gold coin in history: the famous 1933 Gold Double Eagle. The original coin, designed by the great Augustus Saint-Gaudens, is still considered themost beautiful American coin ever minted. Our exquisite replica is minted to the highest quality "Proof" standard and accented in 24k gold.