Looking into the world of gold coins is fun. You begin to start seeing economics, politics, and everything else in a completely different light. Just for fun, we decided to answer a question that you might be curious about right now: what IS the world’s most valuable coin?

The answer is simple at first, but gets more complicated. You see, the world’s most valuable coin is actually the 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle. Yet the history of the Double Eagle is actually a lot more complicated than it seems.

You see, it’s the 1933 Gold Double Eagle, but it would never officially issued. It was formerly issued from 1907 to 1932, but then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt took America off the gold standard. It was illegal to own more than $100 in gold, which meant that most gold coins had to be turned in.

The 1933 Double Eagles were ordered to be destroyed, and private citizens could not own anymore gold coins unless they had a collectible value. This was put into place to keep people from hoarding gold currency. In addition, no more gold currency would be issued in the U.S. at the time. The Mint decided to melt down the 1933 run of Gold Double Eagles and convert them over to gold bullion bars.

Yet a few Double Eagles with the 1933 mintage did escape the melt down. Two were given to the U.S. National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian, yet in 1952 it was reported that the Secret Service actually confiscated 8 more 1933 Double Eagles!

It’s been assumed that the coins were switched for other Double Eagles and saved, with the “contraband” getting out of the Mint.

A Philadelphia jeweler had 19 coins, but they were soon sold to private collections. We don’t know what happened to all of those except that they were found and confiscated, presumably to be melted down and destroyed. However, there was one that definitely catches attention: the one purchased legally by King Farouk of Egypt.

The coin was in the King’s possession until 1952, where the coin appeared on the market. The U.S Secret Service still tried to confiscate the coin, which made it disappear again. It turned up in 1992, where a British coin dealer had it with him in New York. The Secret Service seized it during a sting operation, where they met with the dealer to purchase the coin as undercover buyers.

The dealer was Stephen Fenton, and he fought the U.S authorities over it for years over the true ownership of the coin. The lawsuit was finally settled and the Double Eagle was moved to Fort Knox. It was good timing — the settlement happened a mere 2 months before the September 11th attacks. The U.S Mint had a compromise — the coin would be sold off at auction, and the proceeds would be fairly split between Fenton and the U.S Mint.

The 1933 Double Eagle sold at auction for 6.6 million U.S dollars, along with a 15% buyer’s fee. This made the total come up to $7,590,000. There was also a $20 fee to monetize the coin and compensate the Mint for the money lost when the coin was stolen.

Yet we don’t have any idea who the buyer of the world’s most valuable and expensive coin really is, or when it might show up all over again.

Yet it’s now finally legal tender, which means that the Secret Service can no longer confiscate the coin — for the time being.

There is a twist in the story — as there are 10 other Double Eagles from 1933 floating in an ownership dispute. They belong to Joan Langbord, who is a heir of the original jeweler that had the remaining 10 that he did not sell. However, Ms. Langbord sent all ten coins to the U.S Mint to have them authenticated. Naturally, you can assume that they didn’t return the coins, considering it a rightful return of property that belonged to them in the first place!

So now is definitely the time to make sure that you can focus on your own gold collection. It might not be as famous as the world’s most valuable coin, but the truth is that there is still plenty of opportunity to build a collection that you can enjoy for a long time to come!