According to US Mint records, 445,000 1933 Saint Gaudens $20 gold coins were struck. In March of that year, President Franklin Roosevelt commanded a halt on the circulating these historic coins, and later ordered them to be melted into bullion in 1937. A single 1933 Saint Gaudens resides in the Smithsonian Museum today, and was long believed to be the sole remaining coin of its’ kind. Since these coins were part of a national bullion confiscation that was enacted in 1933, anyone found to be in possession of a 1933 Saint Gaudens gold coin would be breaking United States law. Here’s where the mystique of these legendary coins becomes truly scandalous.

During the 1940’s specimens of the 22-karat gold $20 Saint Gaudens began to surface on the market. At least nine of them were seized and subsequently destroyed. Another specimen, which was owned by Egyptian King Farouk years earlier, came in to the possession of a British coin dealer, and after much legal dispute was auctioned for $ 7.75 million, plus $20 to the Treasury Dept, for the face value of the coin. The proceeds from the auction were split between the U.S. government and the British dealer.

Ten more coins resurfaced in 2003, when Philadelphia-based family, the Langlords, submitted the coins (which were discovered in a safety deposit box) to the U.S. Mint for authentication. The Mint subsequently seized those coins, and the dispute between the Langlords and the U.S. government remains in litigation today.

Investors who are interested in acquiring pre-1933, $20 Saint Gaudens coins can avoid paying over inflated retail prices by contacting one of our friendly specialists, who offer institutional discounts on these, and many other coins to household investors like you.

Shawn Penny