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212 606 7010
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212 606 7901
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212 606 7950
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SPECIALISTS IN CHARGE this catalogue for further

notices.
Senior Director
Harvey G. Stack
Managing Director
Lawrence R. Stack

212 582 2580

© 2001 Sotheby's
All rights reserved

Numismatic Staff
David T. Alexander
William F. Ruprecht,
Vicken Yegparian
Principal Auctioneer,
212 582 2500 License No. 0794917

Numismatic Consultant
Michael Hodder PRINTED IN HONG KONG
THE 1933 DOUBLE EAGLE
NewYork Tuesday, July 30, 2002
THE 1933 DOUBLE EAGLE
New York Tuesday, July 30, 2002

AUCTION TRAVELING EXHIBITION

1334 York Avenue Long Beach Coin &

New York, NY 10021 Collectibles Expo,

Tuesday, July 30, 2002 Long Beach, California

at 6 pm 100 South Pine Avenue

Long Beach, CA
EXHIBITION
June 6-9
Sotheby's
Thursday-Saturday
Monday-Thursday 10 am to 6:30 pm
May 6-9 Sunday
10 am to 5 pm 10 am to 3 pm
Monday-Thursday
The Federal Reserve Bank of
May 13-16
10 am to 5 pm New York,
33 Liberty Street,
Monday-Friday New York, NY
May 20-24
10 am to 5 pm June 21-July 3
Monday-Friday,
Monday-Tuesday
10 am to 4 pm
July 29-30
closed Saturday and Sunday
10 am to 5 pm
BIDDING
Bidding privileges for the evening sale of 7817 of The
1933 Double Eagle, on July 30, 2002, will only be granted
to purchasers who have pre-registered with our
Accounting Department at least three days prior to the

sale. Please contact Toula Livanos at 212 606 7263 if you

wish to arrange for a paddle.
 CONTENTS

Acknowledgements 8
The Golden Disk of 1933: Only One 10
The 1933 Double Eagle (lot description) 12

The Augustus Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle 1907-1933 14

America's Double Eagle - Child of the Gold Rush 14

The Unknown History of the 1933 Double Eagle 16

Philadelphia: Life at the Mint Goes On 18

Philadelphia: 1933-1937, Death of the 1933 Double Eagle 19
1944: A King's Coin 21

An Error Acknowledged 22

A Routine Inquiry 22

A Lighted Fuse - The First Seizures 23

Another Coin: Another Story 24

The City of Brotherly Love: Philadelphia 1944 25

Another Faulty Memory 25

Whippersnapper and the Four Horsemen 26
Time 27
And Then There Were Ten 27
Farouk Redux 29

Back to the Future 31

Piecing Together the Pieces - How and When 32

Switcheroo 32

An End 33
1933: A Day in the Life 34

Reconstructed Provenance of the 1933 Double Cap Eagles 36

Timeline for the 1933 Double Eagle 38

Conditions of Sale 42

Terms of Guarantee 44
Buying at Auction 45

Selling at Auction 48
Client Services 49
Specialist Departments 50
International Offices 52

Absentee Bid Form 56

r ^
'
t
THE 1933 DOUBLE EAGLE
Tuesday July 30, 2002
6 pm
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Sotheby's and Stack's

would like to express their
gratitude to the following
United States Mint
personnel for their
valuable advice, assitance
and support in preparation
of the catalogue:

Henrietta Holsnnan Fore, Director, The United States Mint

David Pickens, Associate Director, The United States Mint

Dr. Wiiliam Daddio, Chief of Poiice,The United States Mint

Greg Weinnnan, Esq,, Counsei,The United States Mint

Meianie Smith, Program Manager, The United States Mint

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'.T Transfer for the 1933 Double Eagle, Prepared by the United States Mint and Engraved Engraving and Prinung
by the United States Bureau itf
R- the 1933 Double Eagle
Sotheby's and Stack's
would like to graciously
acknowledge the following
individuals, institutions,

companies and United

States Government
Agencies for their valuable

assistance and advice, as

well as permission to use
the archival materials in

this catalogue;

Jane A. Levine, Assistant Ronald Gillio The Numismatist, a publi-

United States Attorney, cation of the American
Robert Hoge, Curator of
kindly shared her remark- Numismatic Association,
American Coins, The
able insight to the case, Colorado Springs,
American Numismatic
and drew attention to Colorado
Society
aspects that might other-
The Philadelphia Inquirer
wise have been over- Rosemary Lazenby,
looked. Archivist, The Federal The Franklin D. Roosevelt

Reserve Bank of New York Research Library

A.H. Baldwin & Sons (For

providing photographs of Stephen J. Lloyd R Scott Rubin

Fred Baldwin and the
Douglas Mudd, The The Stack's Numismatic
Farouk Sale)
National Coin Collection, Library
Barry H. Berke, Esq. The Smithsonian
Eric Streiner
Institution
Richard Doty, Curator, The
Paul Tripp
National Coin Collection, The New York Daily News,
The Smithsonian L.P Susan Gerwe Tripp
Institution
The New York Public Dr. Ute Wartenberg,
John J. Ford, Jr. Library Executive Director, The
American Numismatic
Society

NOTE

The historical narrative, timeline and provenance information

has been reconstructed from United States Secret Service
reports, as well as United States Mint, Treasury and other
relevant archival documents.
 1
THE GOLDEN DISK OF 1933:
ONLY ONE
by David Tripp

rom the darkness of the Depression came a glitter of

F gold. Within the thick walls of the United States Mint at

Philadelphia beat a heart of greed. When the opportunity
arose, a crime was committed; unseen, unheard and
unrealized for nearly a decade. Profits were made off
unwitting men of wealth - captains of industry arid
kings - feeding their passion for collecting. When at
last the wrong was discovered, the law whipped into
a whirlwind of activity that spread across the world
and which has lasted more than a half century. The

malefactors were discovered, but never brought to

justice - while the fruit of their clandestine
activities found nothing but the searing heat of
the crucible. All but one; and therein lies a tale.

An ebullient President, Theodore Roosevelt in

1907, commissioned of America's greatest

sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, a new design
for theTwenty-Dollar Gold piece. The work, a
masterpiece, reflected the hopes of a nation
and the unbridled optimism of its President. In

1933, a newly inaugurated Franklin Roosevelt, ;

no less enthusiastic than his cousin, faced a

nation beset by woe as the grip of the

Depression tightened and the economy
teetered on the edge of utter collapse. Strong
medicine was needed for survival. The new
President, in one of his first acts, prohibited
payments in gold coin, and banned its private
ownership. America was going off the gold
standard.

While political will sets government policy, an

entrenched bureaucracy makes it run. Thus the
President's order did nothing to stop the production
of gleaming, new, Twenty-Dollar gold pieces - nearly
a half million; all dated 1933 - the last gold coins
struck by the United States. Kept heavy canvas bags,
in

whose necks were tightly bound with twine and sealed

with lead, they were securely stored in the Mint's vault
and gathered dust. But what lay in that subterranean crypt
was not money; it was stamped metal - chattel - Property
of the United States of America.

10
 In the late winter of 1937, these last vestiges of a century The investigation had identified the owners of record with
and a half of America's grand tradition of gold coinage were were
ease, they a veritable who's who of collectors, and in a
destroyed: great works of art each, boiled down into matter of months most of the illicit Double Eagles were
anonymous, lifeless, cold yellow bricks. All were officially seized or surrendered. Three collectors chose to challenge
accounted for as melted, yet some had survived. Quite the Government over rightful ownership; all three lost.
illegally.
Still the one coin in Egypt remained tantalizingly beyond
Seven years later, within days of each other, first an reach. A World War prevented its immediate return.
Egyptian Diplomat, and then a New York newspaperman, Diplomacy kept it a taboo subject. A coup d'etat brought it

made requests of the Treasury Department. The answers: nearly within reach. Finally a return was hinted at,
the first wrong, the second correct, resulted in the "legal" considered, but never effected. And for a half century the
export of a coin which was then discovered to have been whereabouts of the Farouk coin was lost in the thickening
stolen from the United States. The coin was a 1933 Double mists of time and largely forgotten.
Eagle, and it turned out not to be the only one. The fury of
The desire to taste forbidden fruit is a human yearning; it
the United States Secret Service was unleashed.
knows no international boundaries. On another February day,
Solving crime is seldom easy; but investigating the in 1996, a coin - sworn to be the legendary royal example -
circumstances of even the recent past makes the task ever was returned to the United States by an Englishman who
more challenging. More than a decade of background had thought he owned it, but he did not. He tried to privately sell
to be digested. Memories grow faint with time and recall it, but could not; instead Federal Agents arrested him, and the
can be selective; self-protection is a powerful motive. coin was returned to the official custody of the Government
Nevertheless, through Herculean efforts, the pieces of an that had made it, and still owned it.

illicit jigsaw fell together with remarkable clarity, seemingly

Five years is a long time. Over that time a legal match was
in the blink of an eye.
played out during which the remarkable history of this
Sifting through the welter of stories, denials and lies came seemingly modest, shining disk of gold was at last unveiled.
the unmistakable conclusion; the theft had been an inside Until now few have been privy to this exceptional tale.
job. Only one Mint employee had the access; he hid his
The 1933 Double Eagle may well be the single most desired
crime by switching common coins of no value but equal
coin in the world. Why?
weight for the magical 1933 Double Eagles he then spirited

out. This "trusted" individual needed outside connections to Its Rarity? Its Beauty? Or its Legend? To be sure it

complete the crime and reap the gains. He had them. possesses all these things, but there is something else as
well.
The alleged "whos" were identified, and charges were
sought. But just as the law protects the innocent, so too, it It is a coin made quite legally, but one that was illegal as soon
protects the less worthy. Time had passed, too much; the as was made. As such, no 1933 Double Eagle could, or
it can,

statute of limitations had lapsed, and no case was ever be legitimately owned by any individual - until this one.
tried.What remained was the retrieval of stolen property.
Until now.
The actual number taken will never be known, but nine were
admitted to, and a tenth appeared.
THE 1933 DOUBLE EAGLE
The Property of the United States of America
sold by order of The United States Mint

Designer: Rarity:
AUGUSTUS SAINT-GAUDENS (1848-1907) Effectively Unique.

This is the only 1933 Double Eagle monetized and issued by

the United States Mint. It is the also the only example that
Obverse:
the United States Government has ever authorized, or ever
LIBERTY; in lower right field, 1933 above designers
intends to authorize, for private ownership.
nnonogram ASG.
The two examples preserved in the Smithsonian Institution
Liberty striding forward wearing a flowing gown and with
have never been monetized and are officially considered
her hair blowing in the wind. Her left foot upon a rock, at
chattel by the government. Any additional examples that may
the base of which lies an oak branch. In her right hand she
exist are, similarly, property of the United States
holds a lighted torch aloft and before her; in her extended
hand she holds an olive branch. To the lower
Government, illegal to own, and subject to seizure.
left left, a

small representation of the Capitol building, behind which A Certificate of Transfer will accompany this lot, attesting to
the rays of the sun emanate. Around, 48 stars (representing its unique status.
the states of the Union).

Condition:
Reverse: Of Gem Brilliant Uncirculated quality, or very nearly so. With
UNITED STATES-OF-AMERICA/TWENTY-DOLLARS in two deeply frosted devices, muted, creamy surfaces, and a faint
lines. An Eagle flying left across rays of the rising sun. prooflike glow in the spaces between the obverse rays. Of a

delicate medium orange-yellow hue, there is some light

shininess on the knee and breast, and a few other scattered

Edge: surface marks. A number of identifying features on the
E*PLURIBUS*UNUM*********** obverse include: a semi-circular lint mark below Liberty's left

arm; two copper spots above swell of the fabric to the right

of Liberty's neck; and an additional copper spot to the right

Die Characteristics: of T in LIBERTY. The obverse also exhibits some doubling of
"The coin is identified by a slight doubling of the vertical bar
stars to the left, the torch and "33" in the date. The reverse
of the E of LIBERTY on the obverse and by a die scratch in with full cartwheel effect and a couple of identifying copper
the field of the reverse, traversing the tip of the beak of the spots: one immediately above we, the second at the first t
eagle."
of STATES. The diagnostic die scratch noted by Dr. Hunter of

"The coin is a genuine and unaltered product of the United the Mint is very faint and protrudes upward and slightly to

States Mint at Philadelphia. It was struck from the same the left from the rounded bend of the upper beak, almost
reverse die which produced the reference coins paralleling the long ray to the left.
in the
Smithsonian collection, also viewed at the same time. The
obverse is consistent with those of the Smithsonian coins,
including some doubling of the E.The obverse is quite likely
from the very same die, as well, although the doubling is

not so certain an indicator as the die scratch."

George E. Hunter, Ph. D., Assistant Director for Process

Control and Quality Assurance, United States Mint - March
7 1996
 America's Double Eagle -
Child of the Gold Rush

The vast gold deposits discovered in Northern California in

1848 proved to be the economic engine that powered the

United States onto the world stage as one of the wealthiest
of all nations.

The United States Mint instantly recognized that a new

denomination would soon be required to meet the country's
growing economic needs. In 1849, the bill to create a One-
Dollar gold piece was amended to include a provision for a
new, Twenty-Dollar denomination, to be called the Double
Eagle.

Struck in almost every year between 1850 and 1933 its

design remained surprising static. James Longacre's

original, austere imagery graced the Double Eagle for more
than fifty years, until Augustus Saint-Gaudens' exuberant
designs were adopted.

Just as the two artistic designs of the Double Eagle

embodied the era of their creation, so too did the very life

and death of this large coin. Created as a child of the

unbounded optimism of the Gold Rush, and containing

nearly a full ounce of gold, the Double Eagle became one of

Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States (1901-1909) the most beloved and treasured of all United States coins.
It became a symbol of wealth and prestige, of power and

The Augustus Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle success. And when in the darkest days of the Depression,
1907-1933 Franklin Roosevelt ordered an end to these magical coins,
that too was a reflection of our national mood.
What has justly been called "America's most beautiful coin
design" was the result of a chance meeting between
President Theodore Roosevelt and Augustus Saint-Gaudens
in November 1905. In conversation the two innovative men
agreed that the design of then-current United States coins
was lacking in artistic inspiration. Not long after, the
President commissioned Saint-Gaudens to produce a
coinage aesthetically worthy of the ancient Greeks.

Saint-Gaudens, America's greatest living sculptor, produced

a series of designs that were immediately hailed by his
President. The process of development involved numerous
stages and changes. The original concept called for
exceptionally high relief which, artistically, was exactly what
the two men had been striving for; it was, however,
thoroughly impractical for a circulating coinage. Sadly it was
also the only design Saint-Gaudens saw before succumbing
to cancer in August 1907.

A moderated high relief based on the original design, with

the date expressed in Roman numerals, was attempted with
modest success; but it too, proved unworkable in day-to-day
transactions. In the end the need to produce a true
circulating medium required simplicity - a lowered relief
which required only a single blow from the coining press.
The adaptation, by Charles Barber, translated a sculptured
texture by utilizing graphic elements; thus metamorphosing
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907) Bron:: cowMfMvMAi .. i-;

contour into While the monumentality of the original

line.
EaRI! Fraser (Dfl.-TNER the RI- -AL-' NI. i.: I i

con-T..pt could not be preserved, Saint-Gaudens' brilliant

c portion, richly symbolic, was not altered, and it remains ilri.i.lll T M.- !. 6, 19:i9 -
Tl \;

: : :t r .ghiy T(!garded of all United States coin designs. Ni I-

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NEWSPAPER
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E. I>. CAl.l.S SI’Ed'I Al. SKSSION l)F CONfiHFSS. The Roost veil Mr.s. Sara Id lano 1'. .
• r;
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larnih leu\e.s \\ hi'.t House to attend church on first Sunday of F, I). '.A '
Kofisevelt. the I'ri dd< ni .hu M Fr/o ;• K
ie«in*' Hs Fri-sident, Thev are (1. to r.) .James, Mrs. James Roose.elt. celt Jr. Ito, .-It
; . .

I S. PRKI'ARES TO ABANDON OOIJ) SJANDARD TODAY T^r dollars in hills are |onde<i 'i
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first time in many years money ia mov^ from the Unitetl States IKtinl to an almost cert-
. I

the
^Teaaury ia Waahington on a Sunday. Guards stand by as millions of Washington annouta e puc r - a
 I
BarKAmt Galorr in

TOR SALK" AUl

! Turn to Clattihvd Coli ]

(•t r«>d«> • In^uir^r

ROOSEVEL T PROCLAIMS 4- DA Y BANK HOLIDA

ORDERS EMBARGO TO GUARD NA TION’S GOLi
CALLS CONGRESS INTO SESSION THURSDA
Hv xht of thf I ntlr<i nf \mrrir«'

THE UNKNOWN 3 Prodamatton

Wherr.-*** Ihrrr hji'» hct-n hra*y Mnd riod all hAnkmc transn<'lton% <thall hr

HISTORY OF THE un«»arrant^ nf

rurrrnr) from mir hanking
iri»M iind *»u>prnded. liiirmg «>iKh
;i* hrrem;»ftrr provided. On mkH
cejitiog
h<»lid:*.«. e\

for thr purpiv^v of htiardinK ; and linking m-titulHm nr hramh «h.(n pnv
Whrrra* rtmlinunu'^ and inrrra«inK‘ out. expofi. e4rm<-irk. nr permit the

1933 DOUBLE EAGLE l> extrn'*i\f Ap«ruUiti\r

in fortign r^irhangp Ha'* rwuUrd
ahrtMd
»n
Hilhdrnnal
nr hv «n\
4»r tt.m»-fer in anv
drvire » b.vt.'OH’v er.
manner
»»f anv
^trt drain<» nn the Nation'^ nf gtild «>r Oliver i«nn nr bullion or rtirremv

Krdd; and nr t.ike anv nihrr art ton whirh might

hrrta.'* thr«e fondilmci** hntr farilttate the hoaidmg thereof; nor
rrrated a nalinnal rnifrsfnry and nhall anv wtirh lunking in-^titiition or
1933 Whrrra'* tl ia in ihr
;

nf hranrh pav out drp«>^it«. make Iimoh or

ail hank depir^ilnr^ that a prriod of rr*(- dtM'ount'^. deal in foreign evehange.
pro\idfd »ith a In prf'fnl- transfer rredit^ from the 1 nited Slater
t was a time of crisis for the United pife Ik*

Inc further hnardine nf mm. hullmn nr to anv plaif abroad, nr tnin^.Ki anv
other banking hu«>ine«*«4 what-atrvrr.
I States. The Great Depression had spread rurrcnr> nr sprruUtinn in ftvriKn rx*
DfiMng aurh holiday the Serretarv
rhanur and prrmiltini; th# appliratinn
of the Trea^urv. nith the uppntval of
its tendrils of woe throughout the nf apprnprtate In prolrrl Ihr
the Frr^ident and under Nuch regula-
nur people; and
inlrrr>i1>« of

industrialized world - engulfing all. It was Uhereaa II la provided in Seelwn a tinnvt aw hr mav pre^rntvr. iw aiithnrired

and empowered ta) to permit anv or all

(H) of Ihr Art of tVloWr *i. I!*!7 110
the cruel payback for the glittering 1920's atat. L til) aa amended, "that the l*re«-
nf wueh hanking in>litulion<* In
perform
ident may
in\rHtiKate. rnruUte »ir pr**- any or ail of the leout hanking funr-
and their promise of two cars in every hihit. under auch rulrv and reKulalUmn
tiimv. (h) III direvl. require or permit
the iwhuanre of tearing Moie^e rertifi*
ao he mav prenrrihe, hy mean« nf h- <

garage and a chicken in every pot. As the refits or otherHine, an> irannarliwn** in
ealea or other evidenre*. of riatmw

ftK-elin exchanxe and the export, hoard-

againwl banking }n*<tilut»unw.
a*uvet<« of
Inauguration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and tri to aiiihori/r and dirert the rrea-
inf. melting nr earmarking nf gold or
timv in aurh banking in'vttlulionH of spe-
drew near, observers saw a country poised •4ilxer coin f*r bullion or eurrenei . .

etal tru^t dfioiin!'* for the rreetpl of new

and
depmvita. whirh shall He Mibiert tn with-
on the brink of catastrophe or far-reaching Wherea* M bi prtoided ,in Seel inn Ik
"that nboexer AhaU mil-
drawal on demand without any resirie-
of the Mid Art
change. Lowering on the economic horizon fully xiolale any nf the proxiainnn of
tint} nr limitation and whaH be kept sepa

ratcly in ra«>h or on deposit in Federal

thin Art Of of any Iteenee. rule, or reg-
was the black cloud of an incipient banking ulation Innuod thereunder, and uhnexrr Rmerve flankw or uivewled in nbliga-
tinnw of the I'nifed States
ahaH uillfully violate, neglect, nr refune
crisis. to ecanply with any order of the Prmi*
\* used tn this order the term
"hanking institulMms** •Ahail include ait
dent i*Haed In rompliance with the prn<
xUhma nf thin Art. "hall, upon ennvirl* Federal Reserve flank**. .National hank-
Prices were cheap - two-cents for a daily ing a.«]vc»eiath»fiM. hank«. trust c<#mpa<
inn. be flned not more than IXIO.MO. or. If
nies. Mvinga hanks, building and loan
newspaper, twenty-cents for a pack of a natural per««Hi. imprt««)ned for nr^
aoMiriatinns. credit union* nr other
more than ten >ear«i. or both «..***
corporations. partnerships. awaocia*
cigarettes or four hundred and forty-five .Now. therefore. I. Franklin I). Roone-
tiona nr persfui*. engaged in the hush
veil. Prenufenl of the Tnited .Staten of
dollars for a new Chevrolet coupe - but with Amrriea. in view of «iKh national emer-
new* of receivinc drposila, making kinn*.
diwcounting husinesn paper nr transact*
gency and by virlure of the authority
a quarter of the nation's work force vested in me hy Mid Art and in order
ing any other form nf hanking Iniwi-
neaa.
to prevent the export, hoarding or ear*
unemployed, even those who had money marking of gold or aiher roln or huliioo
In witness whereof. I have hereunto
wet my hand and caused the seal nf the
or rurreney. do hereby proclaim, order, I nited .States in be affixed.
were not inclined to spend it. As the crisis direct jind declare that from Monday, Ikme in the t'ity of Ha«*hingfnn Ihia
the Mith day of Marrh. to Thurwday, Stb day of Marcb-^t A. M.
of confidence grew, the only currency that In the vear nf fhir l.nrd. tine Thou-
the ninth day of Marrh. Nineteen Hun-
sand Nine Hundred and Thirty three,
seemed to be holding its own was gold. dred and Thirty-three, both dalea inrlu* and nf the Independence nf the I niled
ivr. there ahatl be maintained and oh- .<lalew the fhve Hundred and Fifty-sev-
nerved by all banking in«tllulicNM and enth.
Throughout the country banks were aH branehew thereof Inraled In the FRANMJN If. RtM)»iF\KI.T
t'nited Statea of Amrrien. including the Hv the President:
besieged by depositors withdrawing funds terriinrtea and iimuUr pnoaewn iima . a t nedelt Hull.
Seeretarv nf
bank holiday, and that during aaid pe^ .Hfale.

and the drain on the United States' gold

supply was dire; frightened businesses and
individualswere hoarding gold and sending
vast sums abroad to help see them through On March 6, 1933, just two days after his
until economic recovery. Overseas, equally inauguration. President Roosevelt launched the
desperate foreign governments looked to famous "100 Days." With Presidential Proclamation
America as a source of gold, and bought up 2039 he declared a Bank Holiday, closed the nation’s
huge amounts of bullion for export. The banks, prohibited the payment or hoarding of gold in

country was literally hemorrhaging gold and any form, and placed an embargo on the export of
the government realized that if the flow was all gold. The steamship SS Paris, whose specially
not stanched the nation might never rebuilt hold was ready to receive nearly 14 tons of
recover gold, sailed empty of fleeing bullion.
 As Roosevelt later wrote, "For nearly two
months prior to my Inauguration had I
Krinrnitiii lltuirdod Cold to tUv hrdi-rol Kosmo Honk
discussed with a number of people the
gloomy banking situation toward which the
country had been drifting for some time... The

crisiswas being intensified by an ever-

increasing wave of withdrawal and hoarding
of gold. This became more and more marked
during the two months immediately before
Inauguration."

The public response to the presidential

action was overwhelming. In New York City
alone, on just the first day after the anti-
hoarding policy was announced, long lines
of law-abiding citizens formed outside the
Federal Reserve Bank to return some $30
million in gold coin and gold certificates. An
unnamed business firm surrendered $6
million in bullion, while a single
A^s'fUlfrt Firfcik .'}i- ’ 1

businessman turned in $700,000. The 4 ir%r of thr thoutnnAt trho, trith

hoxrt ntiA bulging pochrti^
response across the nation was equally tcrrr hurraing ^rttmlny fo rrW#**

robust and eventually some $300 million in

potlt their nirrrnrv nntf thut e§»
cepe the pennlty for httnrding
gold coin and "yellow notes" was safely
stored in the government's coffers.

The bank holiday was extended at the pleasure of the President

and three days later, on March 9th, Congress passed a bill
approving and confirming his actions. Over the next few
months a series of Executive Orders were issued to tighten the
rules and allow for specific exemptions (including coins of
collector value). Ultimately on January 30, 1934 these individual
regulations and proclamations were condensed, codified and
passed into law by Congress as the Gold Reserve Act of 1934.

Philadelphia:The Last Gold Coin Shipment

The United States Mint at Philadelphia was the nation's chief
producer of gold coinage. On Sunday, March 5, 1933, in

anticipation of the President's proclamation the next day, the

employees of the vault, weigh and transfer rooms were hard at
work. They were preparing what was to be the last shipment of
H'-'i *• e

gold coin to any Federal Reserve Bank or branch. This last Tnxirnh nrri\4ng nt bank trith prrriout hoardings

movement was to ensure that there was an adequate gold

supply on hand for payments already contracted. The shipment 7,000 Join ill City Gold Rush^
to Federal Reserve Banks and branches Cleveland, Louisville,
in
Turn S20,000,000 Back to I . S.
Baltimore, Richmond, Charlotte and the Treasury in Washington
was fairly modest in size, carrying a face value of $12,250,000. Form l)oiil)l<' at l\o«.rr\r Hank l(» Drpo-it
T.in«‘

Weighing about 19 tons, it contained Flalf Eagles, Eagles and Miillioii. ( and ^cIIom Nolc^ a- imr imit
oiii- I l

Double Eagles. But none of these gold coins, the last to leave r>rar‘« for l{t'[(ortiii:: HoardiT' to W a>-liin^toii

the United States Mint legally, were 1933 Double Eagles. The
reason was simple: no 1933 Double Eagles had yet been made. March 11, 1933. The New York Herald Tribune. The return of goldtothe
Federal Reserve Bank, New York City

Opposite page: March 6, 1933. Front page: The Philadelphia

Inquirer. Text of Presidential Proclamation 2039
1933 02002 pHiLAocLPHiA Newspapers, Inc. All rights reserved.

RfPRMTfO WITH THE PERMISSION Of THE pHKAOELPHlA INQUIRER

Philadelphia: Life atThe Mint Goes On
Above: March 7, 1933. Front page: The Philadelphia Inquirer
On March 6th the Mint received a telegram from the 1933 ©2002 Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with the

Treasury Department forbidding the future payment of gold Permission of the Philadelphia Inquirer

coin without license - license which was never again issued.

Below: March 21, 1944. Internal memo to the Director of the
However, in the absence of instructions from Washington to United States Mint from the Acting Superindent of the Philadelphia
Mint outlining production and disposition of 1933 Double Eagles
stop gold coin production, the Mint continued its ordinary
operations. As reported the day after the President's first

Proclamation in the Philadelphia Inquirer. "This is just a

factory," one official stated, "and we send out money only
on orders from the Treasury Department. We have no Hanh 21, 194i

orders with regard to the present situation."

Dlr*otor of th.t Mint
Tx«asax7 Dopartnest
Dies for the 1933 Double Eagles had already been engraved, Waahlngtcai, £6, D. 0<

bullion had been melted and assayed to .900 Fine as Dtar Madam:

required by law, and strip had been rolled and was ready for Confljaalng oar talapliona oonvairaatlon of laat arranlng, tbe
foUoaln^ raflacts tha book raoorda of this Mint on. tho Doubla
stamping into planchets.Without orders to the contrary, the Xaglaa atruok in 19S9:

striking of Double Eagles would begin - and it did. DaUTam: Marok n. . . . 000, 000
Jiprll 4,000,000
May 2,910,000
ptTOTooo
On March 15, 1933, the first 25,000 1933 Double Eagles
9/1S/S4 Olasstflad as uncurrant- 6,900.680
were struck and delivered by the Coiner to the Cashier of |9, 520 Pyx
•
*^,740 " ratumed to eaahlar
the Mint. Two days later. Mint Director Robert J. Grant "W
5400 ^aolals to
'

J>/)L

wrote to EH. Jackson of Atlanta, Georgia, "Under regulations flSO daatroyad m

oo^ by Com.
CO. AsBayls^, Assay
OoamlialA 1954'
recently issued by the Treasury Department no gold or gold
*446 plaeas rasaxra for pyx-|S,920
certificates may be paid out." An additional 25,000 were £0 ppaeials to B/m 400
t9,8B0
delivered to the Cashier five days later, and by the end of the •*446 ptaoas - pyx
* - naad by iLosay CQffimlttea-1934 Assay Cacmlsslon
month a total of 100,000 pieces had been struck. 9
437 ” or |8,740

Beginning on April work continued and during the month

7,
Tary truly yours,
an additional 200,000 were manufactured, being delivered to
the Cashier in four equal groups of 50,000 each. Finally,
ED3(:mkA SuparlntandoDt
during the month of May, 145,500 more were produced. MBfOi £ piaosa takan out aoot. 10/0/34 and
fomardad to Ourator, National Musaum,
The last delivery to the Mint Cashier was made on May 19, for ooln ooUaotlon

1933, the year's production of gold coins was complete.

And, although it was not known at the time, the grandest of
all UfHied States' coins - the Double Eagle - was extinct.
000410
 SMftHSQNIM MCTiTVTION
UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM

Of nioTory,
Octoter 11, IVM.

Li&t of coliu. unu BoSblk rceoivtS free tte UnitoS

TrbtobU/V Uip:.rta.-a(, VoltoA Ltateo List
worvivo, j'lillbdiilpaie, >eBiici'ivMi l»,OctoMKr lJ,lVv^,

;;7;i!-CK -vT TiC Dcni. :< li::t

. Cost, (£ snociMOs)

. Ceot, 1VS4 •

. IJicUwl, 1V34 “ "

nTiBTK j T»g: aTii.\ig:i.:»tTiA list

C«Dt. 1?34 (S snccincns)

Klekcl, 1»S4

DUks, 10S4
j4brter-aolJir.re, 111.4

iiBlr-eollbrt., lt/S4

Dollhrt;, l‘i:4

iMublt-btaCltfb. Iblia

T..O urooiu nvuals (6uplicbtcs) coBijcuorbtle,* tie in*

iiUuur;.taot( of President /rbttklin T>. noosbveit.I.ibrcli 4,lt)l&.
y-'L*.

Philadelphia: 1933-1937. Death of the 1933 It was not until 1934 that the Commission sat and the
Double Eagle samples were sent for testing. Accordingly, on February 2,
1934, the 34 coins remaining from the drawdown were
The 1933 Double Eagles may have had all the obvious
segregated, and are believed to have been stored in the
attributes of coins but they lacked the all-important one that
Cashier's vault. On February 14th and 15th the Annual
would give them life, so to speak. They lacked legal status
Assay Commission met and carried out their assigned task.
as money. The Treasury, as required by law, had not
In the process nine coins were destroyed by testing. The
authorized their release to the Federal Reserve Banks for
remaining 437 coins were returned to the Mint Cashier's
circulation. They were nothing more than shiny gold disks.
officeon February 20, 1934.
Regardless, in accordance with a law nearly as old as the
On September 13, 1934 all United States Gold Coins
nation, one out of every thousand 1933 Double Eagles
remaining in the Mint were classified as uncurrent coin.
struck was randomly chosen for the annual meeting of the
Just under amonth later, on October 9, 1934, two 1933
Assay Commission. The body had been established in 1792:
Double Eagles were forwarded by the Mint Cashier to the
its charge, based on the ancient Trial of the Pyx, was to test
Smithsonian Institution for inclusion in the National
and verify the soundness of the nation's coinage.
Collection.

By May 19, 1933, therefore, 446 examples had been

From this point forth 445,469 1933 Double Eagles lay in
reserved for counting, weighing and testing by the 1934
storage. The vast majority in the Mint's Vault F; a small
Assay Commission. These coins had been selected from
group, 469 pieces, were in the Mint Cashier's Vault. It was
two bags of 250 each. The first was from the delivery of
accessible to one man only.
March 15th; the second from the delivery of April 26th.
These coins were segregated and kept in the Cashier's Finally, the order came: between February 6 and March 18,
Vault, in the Pyx box, which needed two keys to open it.
1937 all the 1933 Double Eagles were melted.

Additionally, 20 coins ("specials" as they were known) were At least in theory.

sent to the Bureau of the Mint in Washington D.C. Sent

On February 15, 1937, Israel Switt, a jeweler and "old gold
two at a time, on the date of each of the ten deliveries, they
dealer, sold the first 1933 Double Eagle to James G.
were duly receipted, and subsequently melted during
Macallister for $500.
testing. On June 27, 1933, 445,000 1933 Double Eagles
were sealed in Mint Vault E Cage 1 by the Cashier.

Above, from left to right

March 21, 1944. Continuation of internal memo indicating dates of delivery of 1933
Double Eagles from Coiner to Cashier of the United State Mint at Philadelphia

September 25, 1945. Treasury Memo from assayerT.J. Quirk regards results of the
United States Mint internal assay of 1933 Double Eagles

October 11, 1934. Smithsonian Institution receipt for 1933 Double Eagles. Signed by
CURATOR Theodore T Belote
 1944: A KING'S COIN

ebruary 25th 1944 was another long, bleak day during For a head of state such as Farouk, although the grant of a
F World War Washington D.C, At the United States
II in
license was not guaranteed, it can be safely assumed that
Treasury work went on as scheduled. Hardly noticed among
the process of application and decision was greatly
the officers and secretaries carrying out their appointed
accelerated. While the applicable regulations had
errands was a diplomatic officer from the Royal Legation of established a "Gold Unit" in the Treasury Department to
Egypt, making his way to the Office of the Secretary of the
oversee such license requests, in this case appears that
it
Treasury, His business was his King's, and in his pocket he the coin was sent, or taken, to the Bureau of the Mint -
carried a king'sransom: a 1933Twenty-Dollar Gold piece. Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross its recipient sometime
Two days earlier his King had purchased the coin from the during that late February day.
flamboyant Texas numismatic entrepreneur, B. Max Mehl.
He had been told it was of the highest rarity, one of just
Ross, the first woman to serve as Director of the Mint, had

three examples he had ever handled. been chosen by Franklin Roosevelt, and by 1944 had already
served her President for more than a decade. On February
King Farouk of Egypt was a twenty-four year old playboy 25, 1944, Ross dictated a letter to the Curator of History at
who had come to the throne eight years earlier. A notorious the United States National Museum, noting that the Royal
spendthrift, he was touched by a collecting mania that Legation of Egypt, "desires to export from the continental
encompassed such unimaginably diverse fields as stamps, United States," the 1933 Double Eagle. She asked,
Galle glass, erotica, early razor blades and aspirin bottles,
"Whether it was of recognized special value to
gold boxes, and Imperial Faberge Easter Eggs to name but a collectors... immediately prior to December 28, 1933 [and]
few. He also collected coins with a gargantuan appetite.
...immediately prior to the issuance of the Executive order

Well-known to American coin dealers, he dealt with them of April 5, 1933 ."

through his Royal Legation. Purchases were sent on to the That same day she entrusted the coin to her assistant, Mrs.
King in Koubbeh Palace in Cairo in the weekly diplomatic W. D. Fales, who took the coin to the "Castle',' the original
pouch. In this manner he had assembled a collection of Smithsonian Institution building. She showed the 1933
astonishing size, richness and complexity. Double Eagle to the Curator of History, Theodore Belote,
Farouk's Legation would have also been familiar with United who had been appointed in 1924, and was responsible for
States laws governing the export of Gold Coins, and thus the formal accounting of the newly received Mint Coin

the diplomat making his way through the Treasury Building

Collection. A collector at heart, his record keeping skills

would have been on what must have become were somewhat haphazard, and his knowledge of the
a fairly regular
errand.
events leading up to the discontinuance of gold coinage was
flawed.
The Gold Reserve Act of 1934 provided his guidance: among
its many provisions, this act made it illegal to export gold in
Dr. Belote met with Mrs. Fales; after examining the coin
any form without express license from the Treasury. and the letter, he dashed off an affirmative reply to both
In this

case, as enunciated questions on the bottom of Mrs. Ross's letter, and returned
in President Roosevelt's August 28,
1933 Executive Order 6260, was the mandate that the coin the coin. Based on this opinion, four days later, on February
must have been of special value to a collector prior to April
29, 1944, Secretary of the Treasury Henry C. Morgenthau,
Jr. issued export license TGL-11-170 to the Royal Legation of
5, 1933. Undoubtedly, dealer Mehl had assured Farouk's
Egypt. Interestingly formal confirmation of Theodore
representatives that the 1933 Double Eagle fulfilled this

requirement. Belote's somewhat hasty finding from the Associate

Director of the Smithsonian, J.E. Graf, was not sent to Mrs.
Ross until March 6 - after the license had already been
approved. Mr. Fahim of the Royal Legation of Egypt
retrieved King Farouk's 1933 Double Eagle and its export
license from the Treasury on March 11th, when it was then
secured in the diplomatic pouch for transport to Cairo and
Upper left & lower right March 30, 1944. Memo from Acting Mint Director Leland
inclusion in the King's rapidly growing collection.
Howard to Chief of Secret Service regarding issuance of Export License and appear-
ance OF 1933 Double Eagles for sale {upper left and lower right)

Upper right February 25, 1944. Copy of letter from Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross
TO Smithsonian Institution desiring information about 1933 Double Eagle submitted by
Egyptian Legation for Export License. ,^CuratorT. Belote's reply on the bottom

Opposite page: February 13, 1945. Franklin Delano Roosevelt with King Farouk of
Egypt aboard the USS Quincy. Courtesy of the F,panklin D. Roosevelt Digital Archives.
 An Error Acknowledged
.W» W
•TAMOAnO rORM NO
tuMM
TMC
10.
PVOMCIT
rta
14 A
Within a matter of days, officials at Treasury and the Mint
discovered that a terrible mistake had been made.
TELEGRAM
OFTICIAL BUSINESS—COVERNMENT RATES "As far as I know, Mr. Belote did not have information in his

Sg9«rlctend«8l possession which would indicate whether or not these coins

U8 Ufit
rbllAdtIpbia f matxlTi&lt had ever been paid out by the Treasury. In fact, Mr. Belote
f9mx wovi fbov 1b«t double mcX»s BlAt«d ia 1933 ««r« •T«r paid out« To«r may have had the impression that they had been paid out
Uatitvtla* «il7 a«^ 8o Buurartar* 4»abl» mgX»* 1933« S«9*r9*d ml* 9f me* In
because the Mint forwarded two of the above-mentioned
U9k MfcadBlW for acxt oo«k. Kmm t«t lafoautloo br T«M4a7 if poadU^a.
coins to Mr. Belote for the Smithsonian collection."
lamrd Aatlsf
Acting Mint Director Leland Howard to Secret Service Chief
Frank Wilson, Treasury Department Inter Office
March 18, 1944. Telegram from Leland Howard to Philadelphia Mint asking if any Communication - March 30, 1944
1933 Double Eagles were paid out

A Routine Inquiry
New York City was the center of the rare coin business in

1944, and most major newspapers carried regular columns

devoted to the subject. The editor of the New York Herald
Tribune's Stamp and Coin column was one Ernest A. Kehr, a
stamp man by inclination; he would later be inducted into the
American Philatelic Society's Hall of Fame. But his curiosity

was piqued by an advertisement placed in his paper by

Stack's, announcing their sale by auction of the Colonel James
W. Flanagan Collection of Coins.

Brothers Joseph and Morton Stack had started their coin

auction business in 1935 and, in less than a decade, had
becorrie one of the pre-eminent firms in the nation. The sale
of the Flanagan collection was to be their greatest ever, and
the advertisement they placed in the February 1944,
Numismatist, proudly noted that: "we expect this sale to
"
REALIZE THE WORLD'S RECORD IN TOTAL AMOUNT OF DOLLARS!

Kehr noticed the last lot of the sale, lot 1681 ,

which was
described as "the excessively rare 1933 double eagle." A
curious man and careful researcher, he must have wondered
why it was so rare. He directed a simple question directly to
the United States Mint: How many 1933 Double Eagles were
released? An equally simple reply was given; None.

The Acting Director of the Mint, Dr. Leland Howard, as he

recalled in the March 30, 1944 memo to the Chief of the
United States Secret Service, had received the "routine
inquiry," and upon personally checking, "discovered that none
were ever legally paid out by the Mint." Alarmed, Howard
immediately contacted Secret Service Chief Frank B. Wilson,
and advised him that, "the coin was for sale in New York and
others were reported to be in collections there."
February 1944. The Numismatist Stack's aovertisement announcing the auction of the
Colonel James W. Flanagan Collection and noting inclusion of a 1933 Double Eagle Although it was the Stack's advertisement for the Colonel
Flanagan auction that ultimately initiated the Secret Service
investigation, curiously, it was not the first public offering of a
1933 Double Eagle. Three years earlier, the Chicago firm of
Smith & Son
had taken an advertisement in the February, 1941
issue of the Numismatist It read: "1933 $20.00.
Uncirculated, the rarest of all Double Eagles with the
exception of the 1849; only three pieces known at the present
time. Price on application to interested buyers." Had the
Secret Service been aware of that offering, who knows how
history might have changed?
27
 A Lighted Fuse - the First Seizures
Leland Howard's call on Frank Wilson set the wheels in

motion. The Secret Service Chief turned the case over to its

New York unit and the case was assigned; the lead
investigator, Special Agent Harry W. Strang, His work
began, those interviewed the first day were extremely co-
operative, and events unfolded rapidly.

March 24, 1944 was a Friday. That morning Strang, a

powerfully built man with a pleasant ruddy face, together
with Secret Service Custodian James Haley from the
Washington D.C. met briefly with Ernest Kehr in
office, his
office. The newspaperman told them of the impending
auction at "Stack Bros., Numismatists" and gave them the
address, 12 West 46th Street.

It was the second day of the Flanagan sale, and the day
before the 1933 Double Eagle was scheduled to be sold.
When agents Strang and Haley arrived at the Stack offices,
Joseph and Morton Stack were most probably seated at
their partners desk reviewing bids for the next session of

the auction.

The Agents identified themselves and got to the point

quickly. Colonel Flanagan's 1933 Double Eagle was stolen
property - stolen from the United States Mint.
Investigations initiated by the Office of the Director of the
United States Mint had determined that no 1933 Double
March 23-25, 1944. Auction catalogue for Stack's sale of the Colonel
Eagles had been released for circulation. Agent Strang
James W. Flanagan Collection
informed the Stacks that he was seizing the coin.
THE EXCESSIVELY R.LHE IM.I DOUBLE EAGLE
As the interview continued, a panoply of leads was opened.
Two were of particular importance: From whom had
Colonel Flanagan had purchased the coin? And, what was
the basis of the portion of their catalogue description that
read, "
. . . we know that 8 to ten of the pieces were sold 1U81 1933 iJrilHfliJt uncin'ulalcd. I’erfort (rcm witli the full mint
bloom, the l«Kt year of issue. Allhoupli this is the first one that
privately..."? ever eutne up in any pul»lie nuelion and tlicj*e is not a price set
on this in tlie standard eBtalo}f we know that 8 or ten of the
pieces were sold for privately from $1.0t)0.(»0 to $2200.00. This
piece has eoM the Col. the tidy .sum of $2200.00 which has set
In response to the first question, the Stacks produced a a now Inch for this coin, lie paid this pri«'e to one of our
lendinp dealers in the south. Kseessively rare and in preat
letter sent the previous week from B. Max Mehl, correcting demand, no buy orders on this particular coin will be accepted ( )

their catalogue description:

KXl) OK SALK
"You state that Colonel Flanagan
THANK Y015
paid $2,200.00 for this piece. This He is incorrect.
purchased the coin of me as per invoice of November 26th, First auction catalogue description of a 1933 Double Eagle: Stack’s, Col.
1937, and remittance was received from him on December James W. Flanagan Collection, lot 1681

3rd, same year, for the amount of $1 ,250.00."

Replying to the second question, Joseph and Morton Stack,

Berenstein was He provided the names and
expansive.
recognizing the seriousness of the situation provided the
addresses of three other owners - numismatic greats:
agents with as much information as possible. Strang issued
FC.C. Boyd, J.F Bell andT James Clarke. He further
Stack's a receipt for the Flanagan coin at 2:00 PM and, with
informed the agents that he believed that Macallister may
James Haley, headed to the office of Max Berenstein, have once had three 1933 Double Eagles. The jeweler also
whose name the Stacks had just provided. admitted that he had once owned second example,
a it too
It was convenient, less than four blocks away. Berenstein, a traced its origins back to Macallister. Berenstein was well

jeweler, was exceptionally helpful. As he handed over his versed with its history, which he willingly provided; he had
1933 Double Eagle, he told the Secret Service men that he sold it to a Chicago firm, R.H. $mith, and they had, in turn,

had bought the coin from James G. Macallister of sold it to coin dealer Ira Reed of Philadelphia. The agents
Philadelphia. His records revealed that he had made the made arrangements to continue the interview the following

purchase on February 17, 1937, for $1,600 - an enormous day,and took the two seized 1933 Double Eagles to the U.$
sum at the time.
Assay Office in New York. They were "weighed and found
to be within the weight range of perfect coins."
 126 THE NUMISMATIST, February, 1941
Another Coin: Another Story
The next morning found Haley and Strang
lOE aOBOE
aoi aocioE back in Berenstein's company. The
Rarities That Are Seldom Offered For jeweler told them that Messrs. Bell, Boyd
Sale Is Our Specialty. and Reed were around for the Colonel
O O Flanagan auction and could be found at
D
MOFFAT & CO. D
o o Stack's. Clearly the men were waiting tor
.Sail Fniiii'isco, Calif., 181!)
the agents, and were prepared tor their
interviews. The results of the ensuing
conversations were somewhat mixed, as
some answers were evasive. But the trail

remained hot, and focus of the

O 910*00 Injurot, extremely tine. Price on appliention to iutereMtetl buyem. Q
investigation continued to tighten.

DOUBLE EAGLE, 1933. F.C.C. Boyd, Vice President of the Union

News Company, was politically well-

connected and had served on the board

of the National Recovery Administration in

the 1930's. While he freely admitted to

owning a 1933 Double Eagle, also
purchased from James Macallister, he
adamantly refused to surrender it until he
1033 $«0.00 l'iicir<Mil:ite4i, the rarent of all Double ea$.ileK ivith the excep'* f
was presented with proof that it had been
Q tion of the 1S41>; onl> ff pex. known to exist at the present time. Price 1
O on application !<» interested buyers. C stolen from the Mint. Boyd explained that
it was his understanding that all the 1933
CLARK GRUBER & CO., 1861.
Double Eagles in collectors' hands had
come from a single bag that had been
delivered to the Federal Reserve Bank of
Philadelphia. And when "the order to

recall same had been issued by former

Secretary of the Treasury Woodin . . .that

instead of returning the bag intact to the

Mint ten of these coins were
1801 t liirk (;riiher & Co. Strictly very line $,‘)00.0©.
abstracted..." Boyd, of course, could not
Drop us a line if you wish to buy, or if you wish to sell. We are in
the market to pureiiase all worth-while Xiimismatie material in aii.v series. have known that at the time of the recall

ESTABLISHED 1920 the coins had not yet been struck.

Smith & Son

J.F. Bell was more co-operative, but must
have been embarrassed and frustrated.
He had his 1933 Double Eagle with him
2267-69 CLYBDURN AVENUE and surrendered it immediately. He had
Chicago, Illinois bought it only two days earlier, from Ira

DIVER3EY 2097 S. Reed.

10C30C= I 0E30I
Reed was a canny Philadelphia coin
February 1941. The Numismatist. The first advertisement for the sale of a 1933 Double Eagle dealer.He admitted cautiously that he
had once owned two of the pieces. One
he had just sold to Bell, but as to the
other his memory failed. He promised he
would check his records. Curiously, just

three weeks after this interview, on April

15, 1944, knowing full well that the 1933

Double Eagles were illegal to own and
subject to seizure, Ira Reed sold one to

Louis Eliasberg of Baltimore.

The third seized 1933 Double Eagle was

in hand. Harry Strang headed to
Philadelphia.
0 .
 The City of Brotherly Love: Philadelphia
1944
The local Agent assigned to assist Strang was George C.
Drescher. Together, on March 29th and 30th they conducted
a series of interviews. The responses ranged from candid to
evasive to imaginative: the conclusion though, was
unmistakable.

Stephen K. Nagy was the first interviewed. Nagy was a

well-known authority on coins and antiques, had once had
remarkable contacts within the Mint, and had a tendency to
dissemble. He told the agents that former Secretary of the
Treasury WilliamF. Woodin had once shown him five 1933

Double Eagles and had offered him one; unaccountably Nagy

had declined.

Ira Reed was next. His careful replies continued, but he now
admitted to having handled three examples - with a hint that
more may have passed through his hands. He had no
records, but furnished the agents with the names of those
to whom he had sold the coins.

A welcome relief greeted the two agents, when at last they

met with James G. Macallister. He came from a wealthy
Philadelphia family and was a "gentleman's" numismatist;
knowledgeable and courtly, he nevertheless had some
interesting contacts. In his was completely
interview he
forthright; he had kept meticulous records and was pleased April 21, 1933. The Philadelphia Inquirer: Caraciture of Secretary of the

to share them. He provided dates, purchase and sale prices, Treasury William H. Woodin. Woodin was a great collector of coins in
THE early part OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, AND WROTE ONE OF THE STANDARD
as well as what he knew about the subsequent disposition REFERNCE BOOKS ON UNITED STATES PATTERN COINAGE
of the coins he had sold. 1933 ©2002 Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with the Permission of
THE Philadelphia Inquirer

He freely recounted that he had bought five of the 1933

Double Eagles from one Israel Switt, whose shop was on
Secret Service offices in Philadelphia. Switt admitted, during
"Jeweler's Row" in Philadelphia. He also noted that each
a four hour session, that he had sold nine 1933 Double
time he inquired as to the source of the gold pieces, Switt
Eagles; five to James Macallister in 1937, and two each to
gave him different, vague and thoroughly unsatisfactory
Ira Reed and Abe Kosoff, "about two years afterward." He
answers.
denied having had more, and his memory failed completely
Macallister was clearly uncomfortable having a relationship when asked about his source. The Secret Service agents
with a man whom he styled as a "gold coin bootlegger," and were unconvinced, and their continued questioning did open
stated that he was aware that Switt had once been a viable lead. Switt and Silver in their capacity as depositors

convicted of a violation of the Gold Reserve Act of 1934. of scrap gold had developed close ties to a number of

Secret Service files confirmed this information, noting that employees at the United States Mint.
Switt had been arrested and his license to deal in scrap gold
Strang poured over the Mint Records concerning the
had been cancelled. However, he had continued to do
disposition of the 1933 Double Eagles. One thing was
business through the transfer of the license to his brother-in-
certain; the stories of the coins having come from the son
law and partner, Edward Silver. Macallister concluded his
of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank president, or the
statement by saying he had not bought a 1933 Double Eagle
Secretary of the Treasury or other "high officials" before the
from Switt since December 1937, when it became clear that
gold recall, simply wouldn't wash. None of the coins had
there were "too many available to warrant their being
yet been made.
represented as rarities." At one point Macallister recalled
Switt telling him he once had 25 and had only sold 14! The answer was closer to home. Harry Strang and George
Drescher began interviewing present and former employees
of the Mint. Who whom? Who had had access
had known
Another Faulty Memory to the 1933 Double Eagles - and when? As employees,
Israel Switt was wary. Ira Reed had called him on March retirees, widows, friends and acquaintances gave their

27th and had told him the Secret Service had already seized statements, threads of the mystery began to knit together.

three of the 1933 Double Eagles. On March 30th Switt met Copies of financial records and tax returns were scrutinized
with the agents when they arrived at his shop at 130 S. 8th and the results provided yet more pieces to the vast jigsaw
Street. As the questioning wore on it was moved to the
Only one name seemed to fit the profile
Whippersnapper and the Four Horsemen The Secret Service investigation revealed that McCann had
deposited varying amounts of cash into his brokerage
George A. McCann was a crook. That was what the former
accounts "not traceable to any known source or income"
Mint bookkeeper, John J. Carey told Agents Strang and
beginning in 1934. It also established, through interviews,
Drescher on April 17, 1944. He had known him to be a crook
that Israel Switt, Edward Silver and George McCann knew
since 1926 when he had discovered, and reported,
each other at that time and had been seen having private
discrepancies in McCann's records as foreman of the Mint's
discussions at the Mint.
Weigh Transfer room. Nothing had been done. McCann had
been protected by superiors. In May, 1940 McCann was accused of having stolen

uncurrent silver coin from the Mint. He found no cover from

The interviews and records revealed that, as he had worked
his superiors. He was dismissed, arrested, pleaded guilty,
his way through the ranks of the Mint, McCann had become and jailed. He was now, four years later, the primary
close to Assistant Superintendent Ralph Roland, Chief Clerk
suspect in the theft of the 1933 Double Eagles.
Fred Chaffin and Assayer Chester "Doc" Ziegler. While still

a junior employee he had done their bidding, or in Carey's October 10, 1944. Westmont, New Jersey. Agents of the

words, "was their whippersnapper." As he had risen in Secret Service interviewed George McCann for two hours.
seniority, he maintained their favor and was eventually taken He denied ever having custody of the 1933 Double Eagles
into their powerful clique; one that was styled in the Secret from the Assay Commission; he denied having sent two
Service reports as "the Four Horsemen" who "ran the 1933 Double Eagles to the Smithsonian; he admitted to
Mint." Their meetings would take place at a hotel at Broad knowing of Switt, but said that he had never heard of
and Catherine Streets, and until 1932, "Doc" Ziegler allowed Edward Silver. He sought to point the finger of suspicion at

his personal friend, coin dealer Henry Chapman, "exclusive others, grew agitated at certain questions, was ultimately

numismatic privileges at the Mint." unconvincing, and refused, through his lawyer, to meet with
the agents again. His denials were proved by subsequent
On March 19, 1934, McCann was appointed
George A.
interviews and investigations to be untrustworthy at best.
Cashier of the Mint. His salary, $2,421.79, was a good one,
nearly twice that of a schoolteacher. He was in a position of It was clear, over the years McCann and his cronies had
one that granted him access unavailable to other Mint
trust, used their positions at the Mint to obtain uncurrent coin and
employees. He had exclusive access to the 1933 Double sell it for personal gain. In hindsight, their chicanery has the

Eagles that had been returned to the Mint from the Assay appearance of having been an open secret, and why it was
Commission a month earlier. not until 1939 that McCann's activities drew the attention of

the law is not known. However, it may be surmised that

cracks in Horsemen"
the wall of protection the "Four
created for themselves must have begun to show when, in
1936, member Fred Chaffin suddenly died; and two years
later, in February 1938, Assayer Chester Ziegler committed
suicide.
 I . . 1
'

Time
Qistrict Court of tlir (Llnilcti flairs
It looked as if the case was solved, and in a remarkably DISTRICT .of renT.^yivcnle

66 if-- Incic ucj-r.t

short space of time. The Secret Service investigation, I
A'C),

ro> iio/atifjr. o' L' L

commenced in March 1944, drew to a head in December, .QED£GE .A. .Uc.Caun _ .. scr!i. ‘^0 Ti . ,
c.w

when it was decided to bring charges against "Israel Switt .rUDCMn.NT AND cor.iMmir.N
On this day of Inarch If =- lijuteu SiaU'S AvIoiik
et al." The recommendation was made to the United States and the dpfpnHant. Geo rg s A» McC ann
.
.
ciTJiiP llio

appearing; proper person, anri

,

.ij .counQ.el
Attorney in Philadelphia, Gerald A. Gleeson. Two months
The defendant having been convicted on * his plea Qf Guilty „ . of the offense diarged
later, on February 6, 1945, the Secret Service received the in the T.JLn.di-CctltiefLt in the above-entitled cause, to wit Embezzling property of '

the United States,

following decision: "...prosecution for the offense alleged
has been barred by the Statute of Limitation. Consequently,
no criminal prosecution will be instituted in this matter."
and the defendant having been now asked whether .... Jias anytmng to say irii.r jiuigniPia
should not be pronounced against JtIjp ,
nnd no suffirient cause to ti.e contrary being shown
or appearing to the Court, It Is by the COURT

Ordered and Adjudged that the defendant, having been found guilty of said offenses, is herel>y
And Then There Were Ten committed to the custody of the Attorney General for imprisonment in an institution of Uif*
‘
flC^ type to be designated by the Attorney General or Ihs authorized
|

representative for the period of *0ne Year and One Day and pay to the United State!
a fine of $500,00,
McCann, were now beyond the long arm of
Switt and Silver I

the law; but the 1933 Double Eagles were still stolen United
States property, and only three of the nine Switt admitted
selling were
government custody. Agent Strang reviewed
in

his notes and proceeded to track down the rest; again he

was relentless - and successful.

From the interviews with Mehl, Berenstein, Reed, and that said defendant be further imprisoned until payment of said
defendant is otherwise discharged as provided by law.'
fine. or until

Macallister and Bell the current owners were identified and ijvlsiffinimoJTtnciiiu-xyifviity

located. Between mid-May and mid-June, 1945, the Secret

Service informed these collectors of the illegal status of the
It Is Further Ordered that the Clerk deliver a certified copy of this judgment and commitment to
1933 Double Eagle and demanded their return. the United States Marshal or other qualified officer and that the same shall ser\-e as the conunitniont
herein.’ ^

F.C.C. Boyd, the notable holdout in 1944, was now

•ihrited &lale$ Diclrici J ur<trr

convinced it had been stolen. Not only did he turn over his A True Copy. Certified this ....24th. . clay of .1^41.

example, but he wired fellow collector Charles Williams in

Cincinnati, informing him of his decision. A day later stl

‘Indictment or information. ‘Insert (a) ‘‘by counsel" or (1») ‘‘having been advised of his constitutional light to couu
and having been uked whether he dcsir^ counsel assigned by the Court, replied Chat he did not," whichever »* applicable
-

’
Insert the words "hiB plea of guilty," “plea of nolo contendere," or “verdict of guilty.” as the case ir.ny be ‘
Name specifn I

offense or ottenscs and specify counts upon which convicted.

Williams surrendered his example. ’
Insert type of institution ouch as “jaii," “training school
“reformatory," "peiutentiar)-,’’ or ‘‘special.” If prisoner's circumetances reouire special type institution, Itliiralinl vhouli’:
‘
;

submit facts and recommendations of Court to Attorney General whei e rcgulationn do not apply. ’ Insert sentence nr.d ani ^

provision for payment of fine and state whether sentences arc to run concurrently or consecutively nnd. if coniccut!\cl>.
when each term is to begin: that is, with tcfercnce to termination of preceding term, or with vesrcel to anv otli»r mitstand-
The other owners were not so co-operative.
j

ing or unserved sentence. Strike out if Court did not so order. '
InJical'* any oi di i v-itii rc.'-iKri lo niEi cnAi'n ft*.
L.G. Barnard, a
•
j ;

bation. ’Certified copy to accompany defendant to institution. ,

Memphis collector, refused. In August he was issued a

summons by the United States government, which sued
him for return of the coin. Barnard placed the coin in the
custody of the federal court clerk and fought the case. In

August 1947, the court found Barnard to be in wrongful

possession of the 1933 Double Eagle. Eight coins had been seized.

Justice Marion S. Boyd stated that he believed the coin had While Switt had admitted to selling only nine, there had
been stolen by someone "who substituted a similar coin for been thehint of at least one other. In 1952, quite

it before the coins were reduced to bullion." Flis opinion unannounced and unexpected, Louis Eliasberg, one of

also noted that in light of the circumstances surrounding its America's great coin collectors, wrote to Leland Floward at
production during the gold recall: the Mint, and surrendered what turned out to be the tenth
1933 Double Eagle.
"The coin here involved was not, at any time, money or
currency, but was a chattel, or an article of virtu." The coin Eliasberg had bought the coin from Ira Reed in April 1944,
was surrendered to the Secret Service. quite unaware of its illegal status (although Reed d/dknow).
When he learned "that there was a cloud to title," he
James A. Stack (of no relation to the Stack brothers) and T.
returned it. But, his letter gently pleaded: he hoped the
James Clarke had their coins seized by the Secret Service a
Mint would return it to him to complete his remarkable
day apart in June 1945. Flowever, like Barnard, they chose
collection. It was not to be.
to fight; and like Barnard they lost. Clarke's case was
dismissed in 1947 and Stack's in 1955. The ninth coin, of course, was Farouk's - half a world away.

Upper Right March 24, 1941. Federal Court Document noting judgement
AND SENTENCE OF GEORGE A. McCANN FOR EMBEZZLING PROPERTY OF THE UNITED
States

Oftosite page: October 4, 1934. United States Mint at Philadelphia

Cashier's Daily statement, signed by Mint Cashier George A. McCann
 Original

mow Wi

trom'T.
'*•
I through
eoret ScrTld, by
Strang^
Eth At9

SVBfc**®

‘
Mp°*’
*
toWJ
Solt*'*
,h ^f•^
Ser^°*
 mtBi
I

Catalofilles prepared by
SOTHEBY & CO.
34 & 35 NEW BOND STREET, LONDON, VV.I

THE PALACE COLLECTIONS OF EGYPT

CATALOGUE.
OF THE

IMPORTANT AND VALUABLE

COLLECTION

COINS AND MEDALS

The Property o/'Thk Rfiprpi.ic of Eayrr

AND NOW Sold by Oedkb op thk <!iovernment

©apB of jfeale:

Wedkesday. 24ts Febsuaky., and following four days

Wednesday, 3rd Maroi, and following teREE days

-
pi; . Illustrated Catalogue (72 Plates)

Farouk Redux America and the Soviet Union, squared off against one
another in a game of international cold war, Egypt was vital
Almost as soon as it was determined that the 1933 Double
to the west. A key piece on the global chessboard, it
Eagles had been stolen from the Mint, and that an
controlled the Suez Canal, and with it the Indian Ocean.
erroneous export license had been granted to King Farouk,
the Treasury Department began to think of ways to get the The Treasury Department, on September 14, 1949, drafted a
coin returned. As early as May 4, 1944, only six weeks into letter for State Department review asking for the return of

the Secret Service investigation, the Treasury's general the Farouk 1933 Double Eagle. Acutely aware of the tense
counsel felt that, "it would be proper to attempt by international climate, State "considered raising the question

diplomatic representations to have the coin returned to the politically inadvisable." Again, the matter was dropped.
United States." However, with a war raging overseas, the
Three years later, everything changed. In 1952 King Farouk
return of a single coin, from the ruler of a strategically
was ousted by a group of Colonels led by charismatic
important nation, may not have been seen to be of the
nationalist, Gamal Abdel Nasser. Their attitude to the
highest importance. Nothing was done - but the coin was outside world was suspicious and hostile. The revolutionary
not forgotten.
government's chief occupation was the reconstruction of
The end of the war in 1945 did not usher in the peace the Egypt and erasure of the country's colonial and royal past.

world had hoped for. An iron curtain descended across One of their tasks was to sell off the fabulous riches which
Europe as the two great allies in the war against Nazism, the fleeing King had left behind.

Opposite page: United States Secret Service Inventory receipts, noting

DATE AND TIME OF SEIZURE OF EIGHT 1933 DOUBLE EaGLES

Above: February 24 March 6, 1954 Auction Catalogue for Sotheby's

-

Sale of the Palace Collections; the Collections formed by Ex-King

Farouf of Egypt.
Sotheby's was chosen to conduct the sale after what "It has now been definitely established, on the basis of
essentially amounted to a year of negotiations conducted by reports received from two reliable witnesses... The

Peter Wilson, and another year of cataloguing the collection auctioneer, when putting up lot No. 185 on the auction block

in Cairo. Fred Baldwin of the esteemed London coin dealers on February 24, 1954, is reported to have announced that

of the same name, was asked to write the coin catalogue. the controversial twenty dollar gold piece, 1933 issue, was
It was a vast undertaking, some 8,500 gold coins alone. being withdrawn from the lot 'at the request of the
One of them was the 1933 Double Eagle. The sale was American Government'. The balance of the lot was
scheduled to begin on February 24, 1954. purchased by an American citizen who confirmed the
withdrawal of the coin in question."
In late 1953, the Mint found the coin listed in the catalogue
as part of lot 185. It immediately informed the State The buyer of record was David Spink, acting for American
Department and the news inspired a flurry of diplomatic collectors the Flonorable and Mrs. R. Henry Norweb. The
cables. On January 27, 1954, Washington wired Cairo with even without the 1933 Double
price for the other 16 coins,

instructions that, "The Embassy should request that the coin Eagle, was an enormous £2,800 ($8,467) - the highest price

be withheld from sale and that it be returned to the United in the sale.
States Department of Treasury."
On March embassy reported that the
31, 1954 the U.S.

A month later, the day before the sale was to begin Cairo return of the Farouk coin was "under consideration" by the

wired back that President Naguib had "ordered the Egyptian government. Nothing further was heard on the
withdrawal [of the] coin from auction." The action was subject. The coin was never returned, and its whereabouts

confirmed two days later in a cable from the American have been a mystery ever since.
Consul:

Left English coin dealer Fred

Baldwin cataloguing coins
FROM the King Farouk
Collection

Bottom: Catalogue entry for

LOT 1 85 of the Farouk sale;

Fred Baldwin's copy, noting the

PRICE paid, the purchaser "Sp"
[Spink1:the 1933 Double Eagle
UNDERLINED AND NOTED AS
"unique"

Background: February 23,

1954 United States State
Department Telegram noting
WITHDRAWAL OF 1933 DOUBLE
Eagle from Auction the
FOLLOWING DAY

Opposite page top: Auctioneer

Maurice George Lee (center)
conducting the Sotheby's auc-
tion OF King Farouk's collec-
tion OF coins; Lee, a resident
of Cairo for 40 years, con-
ducted THE sale in seven LAN-
GUAGES

Opposite page bottom: The

Farouk coin auction in

progress; famed dealer FIans

SCHULMAN IN THE LOWER RIGHT
CORNER

GOLD COINS {continued)

)

185 Twenty 1924, 1924 S, 1924 D, 1925, 1925 S, 1925 D.

dollars,
1926, 1926 D, 1927, 1927 S, 1928, 1929, 1930 S, 1931,
1931 D, 1932, 1933. Mostly extremely fine. 17
i
 Back to the Future
New York City. On the afternoon of February 7, 1996
English coin dealer Stephen Fenton arrived in New York
on a British Airways flight - with him was a 1933 Double
Eagle.

The next morning Fenton met with American coin dealer

Jasper Parrino at the Waldorf Astoria to negotiate the
sale of the 1933
Double Eagle. Secret Service agents,
made aware of the meeting through a confidential
informant and wiretaps, arrested Fenton and Parrino,
and seized the coin.

Over the next five years a lengthy series of legal bouts

were fought. During the process, as described in the
February 12, 2001 edition of Coin World, a deposition
was given that may shed some light on the subsequent
history of the celebrated Farouk coin.

The article reported that according to the sworn

statement, between 1994 and 1995, English coin dealer
Andre De Clermont and Stephen Fenton had bought
numerous gold coins and patterns from an Egyptian
whose father was said to have been a merchant to one
of the colonels who had overthrown King Farouk in

1952. The colonel had been a coin collector who

purchased coins at the Palace auction and privately after
the sale. Elis family was now selling his collection. Both
Englishmen stated that they were able to match coins
exactly to the descriptions in Sotheby's Farouk
catalogue. In late summer, 1995, Fenton was asked if

he wanted to buy the Farouk 1933 Double Eagle.

Fenton agreed and after some haggling, bought the coin
with some other United States gold coins directly from
the Egyptian seller.

This was the coin seized from Stephen Fenton on that

February morning.
Piecing together the Pieces - How and Upon that approval, the coins were removed from the Pyx
When Box, and kept in two bags -
Double Eagles the for

standard Mint bag held 250 coins - in the Cashier's vault;

So what really happened, when did happen, and who was
it
along with the 34 pieces removed prior to the shipment
responsible? Only those who took part will ever know for sent for Assay. As of February 20, 1934, the Cashier's daily
sure, but the Secret Service reports prepared more than a
statement carried all but the twenty-nine pieces destroyed
half-century ago clearly point the way. by Assay testing on its books.

In a nutshell: On October 1934 an additional two examples were sent

9,

The only accessible 1933 Double Eagles were the 471 in the to the Smithsonian by Cashier George McCann (who,
Cashier's vault. 437 had been returned from the Mint by the
curiously, lied to the Secret Service about this), and he was
the only individual with access to the remaining coins, until
Assay Commission on February 20, 1934. They were stored
in what was called the Pyx Box; it had two locks, each they were destroyed. This left the Cashier's Vault holding at

requiring a key held by a separate individual: the Cashier 469. The only 1933 Double Eagles accessible to any

The coins remained individual.

held one, and the Assayer the other. in

this box until the Assay Commission's report was approved James G. Macallister stated that no 1933 Double Eagles
in Washington. were known in collecting circles until his first purchases
from Israel Switt in mid-February, 1937. Switt himself
recounted that he had bought his first 1933 Double Eagle in

"early February, 1937." It is a date that coincides with the

shipment of the 1933 Double Eagles to the refinery

first for

melting - February 6, 1937.

Switcheroo
Knowing that the 1933 Double Eagles
had never been issued and were about
to be destroyed must have made them
particularly tempting. It also gave

them considerable collector value.

The mass movement of material to
the refinery would have afforded
McCann ample opportunity. He
disguised his criminal act by
switching common coins of no
collector value, but identical weight,
with the now valuable 1933 Double
Eagles. When the final tally by
weight was added up, the United
States Mint had accounted for every
single 1933 Double Eagle ever made -
or so they had thought.

As an added footnote, the identification

of the purloined coins as having come

from the original 500 pulled for the Assay
group, and kept in the Cashier's vault for
three years, is also extremely likely. The two
coins sent to the Smithsonian from this group
are a die match to the current specimen.

It all makes sense. But we'll never know for sure.

AMEND
O n January 25, 2001
was
attorneys for
to have begun.
,
just four days before jury selection
The United States Government and
Stephen Fenton reached an out-of-court settle-

ment. It was a singular agreement, and permitted the sale of

the 1933 Double Eagle described in this catalogue. The United
States Government will officially monetize and issue this single

1933 Double Eagle, making it unique and the only one certified
for private ownership.

Amidst swirling fables and rumors, the 1933 Double Eagle has
become the stuff of legend; the focus of international numis-
matic intrigue, gossip and misunderstanding for nearly seventy
years. There no other coin that has been so shrouded by
is

myth and secrecy; the stories of the 1804 Silver Dollar, 1913
Liberty Head Nickel and 1885 Trade Dollar pale in comparison.

But its story is one which, until the decision of the United
States Government to sell this single example, has been
unknown few outside the United States
to the public. Indeed,
Secret Service and United States Mint were aware of the
remarkable history of this fabulous glittering disk of gold - the
1933 Double Eagle - the Forbidden Fruit of American coins.
'c *
,

'

v / '

fsf//Dafe.>$4,000,000-6,000,000

Reserve: $2,500,000

33
 Hires viiitiTT COFFEE
i Ibi. JI.OO 23v
Root Beer

John gttfs&gfio.
n5'SalhhSr.*9S£l6iKSr.

he song, "We're in the Money" from the musical Gold

T Diggers of 1933 could be heard everywhere in that his-
. .
» . I I - 1 1 i

toric year, though few of the Americans singing it actually

a&€gtlaimCTSti
had money in their pockets. After nearly four years of ever-
TOOiY TOMORflOW ELECTRIC
deepening Depression, many were sinking into the murky 3.PIECE BED REFRIGERATION
I

depths of despair after hanging on through the long dreary

months since Black Thursday, October 29, 1929.

On that fateful afternoon, the delirious optimism of the

Roaring Twenties came to a crashing halt. The frenetic era of

Coolidge Prosperity, the Big Bull Market, flagpole sitting, rac-

coon coats, flappers and the Charleston gave way to industri- r ZJ Cas vs n a lis 0
U*CT^:C
al paralysis, economic dislocation, massive unemployment,
FREE
spreading business failures, and bread lines in the cities.

In rural areas, farmers saw the prices of their produce plum-

far 370ood Years
met. A widening circle of farm foreclosures drove families
[

6000
off the land, while the onrushing Dust bowl spelled the ruin
FURNITURE
of the land as well as its people. for Hie
He^re De Grace Good People
While the main events of the epoch are widely known, after Special Service af Philadelphia
nearly 70 years is easy to forget the realities faced by aver- hy GreyheenJ
it
I an the IV/in Kuttf/tl

age Americans on March 5, 1933. The cost of living seems

startlingly low by today's standards, but wages were closely PjWT'iTfip F«r« S*..pO

attuned to costs for those fortunate enough to be employed

JoW.'. litiJ

at all. A quarter of the American work force was unem-

!>.
lu:
.

. ti-Jl tuzeCa
ployed, and public and private relief was extremely limited.
6R^pUND|£^^ Kar&et
Sot C«c«
St.

Wages for the One New York newspa-

employed were low.
per took a reader survey, asking what readers thought was
decent used car cost $50 to $100, and gas was 20 cents a
the minimum wage on which they could survive. One
gallon. At home, in New York City, a three-room apartment
Manhattan couple asserted that they could make it on $25
on Riverside Drive could be had for $67 per month, while an
per week; while a father of six in the suburbs reckoned his
unfurnished one-room apartment in a less tony part of the
family could be comfortable, and maintain an automobile, on
city cost $10 per month. They could be furnished cheaply as
$50 per week.
well, Macy's offered a mahogany veneer dining room set for

A Doctor with a good practice could earn $3,400 per year, an $69.95, while competitor Gimbel's sold a five-piece maple
engineer $2,200, a public school teacher $1,200, a regularly set for $17.95.
employed construction worker $1,000, a skilled stenographer
But man does not live by bread alone. Even in the darkest of
up to $780 and a farm hand as much as $216 (hopefully with
times there were diversions. The first came in a bottle: on
room and board added).
April 7, 1933, 3.2 beer became legal, and December 5th saw
But people got by, with prices amazingly low by today's stan- the repeal of the Noble Experiment - Prohibition - in 22
dards: in New York a pound loaf of bread was 5 cents, a states. Coca-Cola sales dropped by a billion drinks in the
quart of milk 10 cents, and a dozen eggs a quarter dollar. A first year following repeal; but Boston's Joseph R Kennedy
decent cigar cost a nickel, and a ready-made suit could be made a fortune. He had been amassing enormous holdings
had for $16.96. Ladies' silk stockings were 39 cents and a of Scotch whiskey in Britain, awaiting "the day" to begin
quality cotton print dress might cost $1.59. To get around, a shipment to a thirsty United States.

24
 U. S. GOLD
Baseballwas the game closest to the heart of America; the
ISSl.Aug. Humbert. »80 Thoua.
Yankees didn't make it to the World Series which was won by the Humbert. 8S7 Thous.,
Fine
Very good 1 :
O'.
18oJ, U. b. Assay, 900 Thous.. 1^’ine
New York Giants, but an aging Babe Ruth pitched the last game of Aug-. ilumbert. 887 Theus.. Verv croorl
1915, Paiiama-Hacilic, Octagonal, Unclri ulated
i:v.oo
225 L-
1915, I'anama-Paclflc, Hound. Uncirculated
the season against his old team, the Boston Red Sox, and won. 18o0, O Mint. Fine
. .
250.00
1852. 0 Mint. Fine . .

1858, (J Mint, Uncirculated

75!oO
Coin collecting could be an affordable hobby too; Proof Morgan 1S63, U. S. Assay, Hxtremely fine
1561, O -Mint, Fine ....
18<GCC Mint, Extremely fine
Dollars were $2 each; "older half dollars, 1821-1838" were adver- 1887, a Mint. Uncirculated
.
45.00
30 no
1897,8 Mint, Uncirculated 30.00
tised for 60 cents and a 1914-D Lincoln cent, ever in demand, }S!23'
1 r 95,
Gaudens, Wire edge, Uncirculated
Extremely fine. $60.00. Fine .. 30.00
45.00
1796, Uncirculated
cost $1.25. But jigsaw puzzles were the latest American craze. 1797, Small Eagle, Uncirculated
. .

150.00
li 97,Large Kagle, Extremely fine. $45.00. Fine 35.00
They sold in the millions and Americans solved them while listen- 1709, Uncirculated, $40.00.
1800, Uncirculated, $40.00.
Ex. fine, $35.00. Fine 30 00
Fine 30.00
1801, Extremely fine, |40.00. Very fine.
ing to their favorite shows on the radio. Some 22 million radio 1803, Uiiclrculatnd, $45.00, Very fine
$35.00. Fine 30.00
35.00
1804, Uncirculated. $100.00. Fine 75.00
sets were in use, and could be had for under $10. Its stars made 1838, Extremely fine, $40.00.
1840, Uncirculated
Fine 25 00 .

25.00
1841, 0 Mint, Uncirculated
a small fortune; from the $20,000 per week that comedian Ed 1842, Small date, Extremely fine
75.00
25.00
1844, Very fine
Wynn pulled in while performing on stage, or singer Kate Smith's 1847,0 Mint. Fine
1S48, Uncirculated
20.00
25.00
1852, U. S. Assay, Extremely fine
$7,000 per week; George Burns and Gracie Allen received $1,250 1853, O Mint. Fine
30.00
25.00
1855, O Mint, Very fine 45.00
for each radio appearance, while Jack Benny had to make due 1855, S ^lint. Extremely fine 50.00
1858.0 Mint, Extremely fine 35.00
1859. 0 Mint, Very fine
with $4,000 per week. 1860, Clark, Gruber and Co., Fine
75.00
60.00
1861, Clark, Gruber and Co.. Fine 35.00
1 863, Extremely fine 75.00
In New York, a night out might include dinner and dancing at the 1877, Very fine
1877, CC Mint, Very fine
75.00
75.00
1879, CC Mint, Fine 75.00
Paramount Grill for $2.50, or taking in a movie. Tickets at the glit- 1883, CC Mint, Extremely fine 75.00
1884, CC Mint,
Uncirculated 60.00
tering new Radio City Music Hall were 75 cents after 6 PM, and 1886,
1S90,
Proof
Brilliant
CC Mint.
Uncirculated
35.00
45 00
Tjiberty head. Uncirculated
1 907.
17.50
the year saw the release of such classic films as Katherine St. Gaudens, Rolled edges with periods. Uncirculated.. 150.00
1907,
St. Gaudens, Wire edge with periods. Uncirculated ...
1 907,
30.00
Hepburn in Little Women, Mae West and a young Cary Grant in , No date, C. Bechtler, Carolina Gold, 21 Carats, 134 O., Ex
fine 45.00
1S*M, C. Bechtler, Aug:. 1, 1834, 140 O.. 20 Carats, Ex. fine
She Done Him Wrong, the all-star Dinner at Eight, and of course 1849, Norris, (JrleR and Norris, Fine
r>o
75.00
. uo
1849, Moffat and C’o., Plxtremely fine 22.50
Fray Wray and Robert Armstrong in King Kong. On some levels, 1 SCO. Clark and Co., Extremely fine 35.00
1860, Mormon. Deseret Assay Office, Extremely fine .. 100.00
anyway, it was a pretty good year.
Kverjthing else in TT. S. GoUl.
Perhaps the greatest achievement of 1933 was a rebirth of hopes, Many ehoicc items in T’. S. Silver also.

although years would pass before the last vestiges of the

Depression faded. That the nation could survive the year with so
much grace and humor is perhaps a commentary on her generally
JOHN ZUG
cooperative and law-abiding citizens, her government's flexibility, Bowie, Maryland.
and America's underlying strength and resilience.

Opposite page: March 21, 1933

Philadelphia Inquirer advertise-
ments AND PRICES. Note 3 piece

"BED OUTFir" FOR $8.95

1933 02002 Pt-iiiAOF.LPHiA NrwsrAeERS. Inc.

All RKiHts rfsfrvfd. Rlprintf wrtH the

PlRMlSSlON of the PHIlAOtlPHIA INOUIRER

Above: 1933. Tne Numismatist.

Typical coin dealer advertisement
WITH prices: note 1907 Saint^
Gaudens high relief Double
Eagle for $30

Right 1933. Poster from the

German release of the motion
PICTURE, King Kong. Sold at
Sotheby's, October 28, 2000,
Lot 127. $87000.
RECONSTRUCTED PROVENANCE
OF THE 1933 DOUBLE EAGLES

Based on Interviews and Investigations conducted by The United States

Secret Service Commencing March 24, 1944.

Secret Service identifying numbers [DEGC] ennumerated by Special

Agents Harry W. Strang and George G. Drescher in their March 29, 1944
report to Frank J. Wilson, Chief United States Secret Service

There are some inconsistencies in Pedigree Chains which are due to

conflicting testimony. Where known, notation of source noted.

1 .
3.

Mint Cashier George A. McCann, access from March Mint Cashier George A. McCann, access from March 20, 1934;
20, 1934; Israel Switt, "beginning of February 1937";

Israel Switt,"beginning of February 1937"; Abe Kosoff, c. 1939 [per Secret Service interview with I, Switt,
James Macallister, July, 1937 - $550; March 30, 1944, "five coins were sold to Macallister during
B. Max Mehl, July 15, 1937 [per Macallister]; July 21, 1937 and the sales to Kasoff [sic] and Reed took place about
1937 [per Mehl]; two years afterward";
Colonel James W. Flanagan, November 26, 1937 - Flammel, "dealer of New York City";
$1,250 [paid on December 3, 1937 per B. Max Mehl]: Ira S. Reed, unknown date;
Consigned to Stack's auction scheduled March 23, 1944 J.F Bell, March 23, 1944;
- lot 1681 [withdrawn]; "Seized from James F. Bell, by Secret Service Agents James
"Seized from Stack Brothers, by Secret Service Agents Flaley, and Flarry W. Strang, 2:00 PM March 25, 1944, at 12 W.
James Flaley, and Flarry W. Strang, 2:00 PM March 24, 46th Street, New York, N.Y."

1944, at 12W. 46th Street, New York, N.Y. Said to be [DEGC No. 2] Destroyed.
property of Col. James W. Flanagan, of Palm Beach,
Florida." 4.
[DEGC No. 6] Destroyed. Mint Cashier George A. McCann, access from March 20, 1934;
Israel Switt, "beginning of February 1937";
2 .
James G. Macallister, February 20, 1937 - $500;
Mint Cashier George A. McCann, access from March F.C.C. Boyd, February, 1937 - $1,100;
20, 1934; "Surrendered by Fred. C.C. Boyd, to Secret Service Agent
Israel Switt, "beginning of February 1937"; Harry W. Strang, 3:00 PM June 18, 1945 at 131 Varick Street,
James G. Macallister, February 15, 1937 -$500; New York, N.Y."
Max Berenstein, February 16, 1937 [per Macallister]; [DEGC No. 5] Destroyed.
February 17, 1937 [per Berenstein] - $1,600.
"Seized from Max Bernstein [sic], by Secret Service 5.
Agents James Flaley, and W. Strang, 3:00 PM
Flarry Mint Cashier George A. McCann, access from March 20, 1934;
March 24, 1944, at 435 Madison Avenue, New York, Israel Switt, "beginning of February 1937";
N.Y." Ira S. Reed, "purchased over the counter at his place of busi-
[DEGC No. 4] Destroyed. ness some time in 1941 " [per Ira Reed Secret Service inter-

view, March 29, 1944];

T.James Clarke, 1941 - $550;
"Seized from! James Clarke, through his Attorney Harry J.
Stein, by Secret Service Agent Harry W. Strang, 10:30 AM

June 19, 1945, at 501 5th Avenue, New York, N.Y." Litigated;

"Suit [by Clarke] dimissed with prejudice and without costs.

Case will be considered closed in this District." Agent
(Special

Harry W. Strang to Chief of United States Secret Service -

September 2, 1947).
[DEGC No. 3] Destroyed.
6 . 9.

Mint Cashier George A. McCann, access from March 20, Mint Cashier George A. McCann, access from March 20,
1934; 1934;
Israel Switt, "beginning of February 1937"; Israel Switt, "beginning of February 1937";
Ira S. Reed, c. 1939 -$500; James G. Macallister, July 1, 1937 - $500;
James A. Stack, September 30, 1943 - $1 ,000; B.L. Taylor, July, 1937;
"Seized from James Stack, by Secret Service Agent Harry Max Berenstein, date unknown;
W, Strang, 12:00 Noon June 20, 1945, at 1359 Broadway, R.H. Smith, before February, 1941;
New York, N.Y" Litigated; Ira S. Reed, 1941 [per Max Berenstein interview with Secret
"Stack case against the Government dismissed and he is Service, March 24, 1944);
barred from making any further complaint in the same mat- "sometime in 1942" [per Ira Reed interview with
J.F. Bell,

ter." June 10, 1955. Secret Service, March 29, 1944);

Destroyed. B. Max Mehl (via Ira Reed?), February 23, 1944;

King Farouk of Egypt (via Egyptian Legation), February 23,

7. 1944 [per B. Max Mehl interview with Secret Service, April
Mint Cashier George A. McCann, access from March 20, 4, 1944);

1934; Republic of Egypt, July 23, 1952;

Israel Switt," beginning of February 1937"; Consigned to Sotheby's, scheduled February 24, 1954 - lot

James G. Macallister, December 6, 1937 - $550 [per 185, part [withdrawn].

Macallister: Secret Service Report, March 29, 1944); [DEGC No. 1]

B. Max Mehl, December 3, -

1937 $1,000 [per Mehl: Secret
service Report, April 5, 19441; 10 .

Unknown; Mint Cashier George A. McCann, access from March 20,

or 1934;
Abe Kosoff, c. 1939; Israel Switt [presumedl,"beginning of February 1937";
Sol Kaplan, date unknown; [per James G. Macallister: Secret Ira S. Reed, c. 1939 - $500;
Service report March 29, 19441; Louis Eliasberg, April 15, 1944 -$1,000;
Frank Williams, President Western and Southern Insurance Surrendered to United States Mint, August 21, 1952.
Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, date unknown; Destroyed.
Following receipt of a telegram from F.C.C. Boyd stating that
he had surrendered his 1933 Double Eagle, C.M. Williams 11 .

followed suit; United States Mint; Delivery to National Coin Collection,

"Surrendered by Mr. C.M. Williams, R.F.D. #13, Mt. Smithsonian Institution, October 9, 1934 [released by Mint
Washington, Cincinnati, Ohio on 20 June 1945 to Agent Cashier George A. McCann); receipt acknowledged by
Robuck." Theodore Belote, October 11, 1934.
[DEGC No. 7 or 8] Destroyed.
12 .

8 . United States Mint; Delivery to National Coin Collection,

Mint Cashier George A. McCann, access from March 20, Smithsonian Institution, October 9, 1934 [released by Mint
1934; Cashier George A. McCann); receipt acknowledged by
Israel Switt, "beginning of February 1937"; Theodore Belote, October 11, 1934.

Ira S. Reed, c. 1939 - $500;

J.F Bell, date unknown;
L.G. Barnard, 1942 - $900;
"Received by RA Sutterfield, 8/13/47, from Asst. U.S.
Attorney John Brown, Memphis, Tenn.; from U.S. District
Court Clerk W.L. Johnson, 8/12/47, Memphis, Tenn., from
L.G. Barnard, Memphis, Tenn., May 28, 1945." Litigated,

"...the United States of America, and not... L.G. Barnard,

has the legal title to... said Gold Double Eagle." (Judgement
filed July 31, 1947); August 7, 1947 Barnard's attorney
advised "that no appeal would be taken."
Destroyed.

a.
March 4, 1933 Franklin Roosevelt Inaugurated

March 5, 1933 Last shipment of gold coin from the Mint

March 6, 1933 Presidential Proclamation 2039 (Declares Bank Floliday - Payment of Gold Coin
Prohibited United States Mint instructed by telegram from Treasury Department that no
gold in any form to be paid out without license

March 15-24, 1933 First 100,000 1933 Double Eagles struck

March 15, 1933 - May 19, 1933 20 1933 Double Eagles sent to Bureau of Mint, Washington D.C. for laboratory

testing (all melted)

April 5, 1933 Executive Order 6102 (Requires return of all gold coin with specific exceptions)

April 7-27, 1933 200.000 1933 Double Eagles struck

May 8-19, 1933 145,500 1933 Double Eagles struck

January 30, 1934 Congressional Passage of Gold Reserve Act of 1934

Before February 2, 1934 445.000 1933 Double Eagles in Mint Vault F - Cage 1

480 Segregated for Assay and Testing Purposes

February 2, 1934 34 1933 Double Eagles extracted from Assay Holding: added to Vault F - Cage 1

holding: or kept in Cashier's vault.

February 14-15, 1934 Assay Commission meets: examines 446 1933 Double Eagles (9 melted in testing)

February 20, 1934 437 1933 Double Eagles returned to Mint from United States Assay Commission -
stored in Cashier's vault

March 20, 1934 George A. McCann assumes position of Mint Cashier

October 9, 1934 2 1933 Double Eagles sent to Smithsonian Collection by George McCann

February 6, 1937-March 18, 1937 1933 Double Eagles sent to refinery for melting

"Early February 1937" Israel Switt purchases unknown number of 1933 Double Eagles

February 15, 1937 Israel Switt sells first 1933 Double Eagle to James G. Macallister for $500

May 1940 George McCann arrested for stealing uncurrent silver coin from United States Mint
 DAILY W NILWS
mw n)n« » ly*, _
FINAL

ROOSEVELT FIXES
GOLD EMBARGO

LB/^ Br. i,J9 • **«/

-
DiEASo.ir Department

Marat) It, 1VA4

I F" I A I
Cmahot TstMUdr Df^WTMeirr. AcrwtuTioN Tv^
bp«aM*, ftffiM Of tb.
OFFICIAL BUSINESS-GOVERNMENT RATES ttj***^^ th» 1^44,
|

'

•uyarlcteodcirt
7S Mist
RbllnAalptilt yonns/lTCEiia

».« w n«»4 «« «».< tobl. Xl.. U 1,3, ^ „„

lur%iny«l n, to totofMloT. toabl. to,l>i 1 ,33. totorato •>!• ,f ao. i»
M«v loik > tt a*ul> 4 for Bcrt ^laaaa (at Infoztotjoa ,7 TaaaAa, If paaalUa.

l»Mr4 ArtXLf

February 1941 Smith & Son advertises 1933 Double Eagle in The Numismatist

February, 1944 Stack's advertisement in The /Vum/s/maf/st announcing sale at auction of

Colonel James W. Flanagan Collection.

February 23, 1944 B. Max Mehl sells 1933 Double Eagle to King Earouk of Egypt

February 25, 1944 Royal Legation of Egypt delivers 1933 Double Eagle to United States Treasury
with request for Export License

February 29, 1944 United States Treasury issues Egyptian Royal Legation Export License TGL-170
for 1933 Double Eagle

March 6, 1944 Letter from Associate Director of Smithsonian Institution to Mint Director
Ross confirming that coin was shown toT. Belote who answered affirmatively that
coin was of special interest to collectors prior to April 5, 1933 and December 28,
1933 pursuant to Gold Reserve Act of 1934

March 11, 1944 Mr. Fahim of Egyptian Royal Legation retrieves 1933 Double Eagle from
United States Treasury

March 18, 1944 Acting Mint Director Leland Floward wires Superintendent United States Mint
at Philadelphia asking if any 1933 Double Eagles were paid out. Cites
upcoming auction in New York
March 22, 1944 Secret Service first alerted to presence of 1933 Double Eagles in commerce;
investigation initiated

March 23-25, 1944 Stack's auction of Col. James W. Flanagan Collection, containing 1933
Double Eagle (lot 1681

March 24, 1944 Secret Service Agents Jack Flaley and Harry W. Strang seize 1933 Double Eagle
(#1) from Stack's
Secret Service agents Haley and Strang seize a second 1933 Double Eagle (#2)
from coin dealer Max Berenstein

March 25, 1944 Agents Haley and Strang interview Messrs. J.F. Bell, F.C.C. Boyd and Ira Reed in

New York City; Bell immediately surrenders a 1933 Double Eagle (#3)

to special agents
 CERTinED=lNVENTORY OF PROPERTY TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR

(^a.ITTWl ••

S*it«d froK StBftK BroSb«r#, by 8*cr«t

Ob* (1) 1953 - 6«ld oola S«mo* Juai B*l»y. aod
^rryW. Stnce. ^ V«r*}i 24.
1944. »t 12 W. 4«th Straa*.. Tert.
X. n ^ tea proparty et
'Col. Ja«at F. nuacta. of Fale boaet.
Florida.
/

TIMELINE FOR THE 1933

March 29, 1944 Philadelphia. Secret Services Agents conduct follow-up interviews with
Ira Reed and James Macallister; Macallister informs agents he purchased 5

1933 Double Eagles from Israel Swift (Gold Dealer with history of violations of
1934 Gold Reserve Act)

March 30, 1944 Secret Service Agents Harry Strang and George Drescher interview Israel Switt;

Switt admits to one time possession of 9 1933 Double Eagles; told agents he had
sold 5 to James Macallister; 2 to Ira Reed; 2 to Abe Kosoff; Switt professed no
recollection of his source for the coins; but admitted had been to Philadelphia Mint

frequently in capacity as gold dealer

March 30, 1944 Leland Howard, Acting Director of United States Mint sends memo to Chief of

United States Secret Service recounting events leading to granting of Export

License to King Farouk; explains awareness of illicit removal of 1933 Double
Eagles from Mint in response to "routine inquiry regarding the number of such
coins that had been placed in circulation."

Acting Mint Director recounts first realization that no 1933 Double Eagles had ever
been placed into circulation. Mint understood situation only after the export license
had been issued

April 6, 1944 Chief of United States Secret Service receives written confirmation from the
Treasury Department that their records "do not show that any payments of 1933
Double Eagles were authorized to be made by the United States Mint,
Philadelphia, to any Federal Reserve Bank or Branch."

May 4, 1944 General Counsel to Treasury, re: Farouk coin "it would be proper to attempt by

diplomatic representations to have the coin returned to the United States"

October 10, 1944 Secret Service interviews chief suspect, former Mint Cashier George McCann

February 6, 1945 "Re: Israel Switt et al.. .prosecution for the alleged offense has been barred by the
Statute of Limitations." - United States Attorney Gerald A. Gleeson

June 18, 1945 F.C.C. Boyd surrenders 1933 Double eagle to Special Agent Strang (#4)

June 19, 1945 Secret Service seizes 1933 Double Eagle from! James Clarke through his
attorney (#5)

June 20, 1945 Secret Service seizes 1933 Double Eagle from James A. Stack (#6)

Charles M. Williams, surrenders his example to Secret Service (#7)

 Department of State
ItUUKAM

rmfhoiitms-'-
(OUT, n-'ftAJSI/llD’.
ft* Ui

August 12, 1947 United States recovers 1933 Double Eagle (#8) from L.G. Barnard at conclusion
of litigation

September 1949 Treasury Department drafts letter to King Farouk demanding return of
1933 Double Eagle; submitted to State Department for review;

State Department advises politically inadvisable to raise the subject with Egypt -
letter not sent

August 21 , 1952 Louis Eliasberg surrenders 1933 Double Eagle to United States (#9);

[when] "I heard there was a cloud to the title I surrendered the coin."

[Letter, Louis Eliasberg to Leland Eloward, United States Mint, September 4, 1952]

July 23, 1952 Coup d'etat ousts King Farouk of Egypt

February 26, 1953 Sotheby's appointed official advisors to Egyptian Government's sale of property
belonging to deposed King Farouk

December 1953 United States Department of State instructs United States Embassy in Cairo to
request return of 1933 Double Eagle

January 27, 1954 United States Department of State instructs US Embassy, Cairo to, "request that
coin be withheld from sale and that it be returned to the United States
Department of Treasury."

February 24, 1954 Sotheby's auction of "Palace Collections of Egypt" (King Farouk Collection);
Session 1, lot 185 contains 17 Double Eagles including 1933 Double Eagle; coin
withdrawn at behest of US Government

March 31 ,
1954 US Embassy, Cairo, reports return of Farouk 1933 Double Eagle is

"under consideration" by Egyptian Government

October 3, 1995 Stephen C. Fenton purchases 1933 Double Eagle, with other US gold coins
in London, England

February 8, 1996 Federal Agents arrest Stephen Fenton and Jasper Parrino at Waldorf Astoria,
New York, attempting to consummate sale of 1933 Double Eagle; coin seized

January 25, 2001 Out of court settlement between United States Government and Stephen Fenton;
Government retains ownership; sale of this 1933 Double Eagle authorized

July 30, 2002 Only 1933 Double Eagle "issued and monetized" by United States Government.
Sold at public auction conducted by Sotheby's/Stack's in New York City
 The following Conditions Sotheby's and the United
CONDITIONS of Sale andTerms of States Mint ("the Mint") by

OF SALE Guarantee are Sotheby's, the posting of notices or by

Inc. and the United States oral announcements made
Mint's entire agreement during the sale. The
with the purchaser relative Property will be offered by
to the Property described Sotheby's as agent for the
in this catalogue. The Mint unless otherwise indi-
1

Conditions of Sale, Terms cated the Mint. By partici-

of Guarantee, the glossary, pating in any sale, you
and all other contents of acknowledge that you are
this catalogue are subject bound by these terms and
to amendment by conditions.
8

Goods auctioned are often of 2 Prospective bidders should a convenience to clients who are up. Notwithstanding any state

some age. The authenticity of inspect the Property before bid- not present at auctions, we are or local law to the contrary, title

the Authorship of Property listed ding to determine its condition, not responsible for any errors or to the Property may not be trans-

in the catalogue is guaranteed as size, and whether or not it has omissions in connection there- ferred except in a writing, signed

stated in the Terms of Guarantee been repaired or restored. with. by the Director of the Mint.

and except for the Limited Upon receipt of the payment in

Warranty contained therein, all 3 A buyer's premium will be added 6 If the auctioneer decides that full from the purchaser, the Mint

Property is sold "AS IS" without to the successful bid price and is any opening bid is below the shall effect a transfer of the title

any representations or war- payable by the purchaser as part reserve, if any, he may reject the to the Property directly to the

ranties by Sotheby's or the Mint of the total purchase price. The same and withdraw the article purchaser.

as to merchantability, fitness for buyer's premium is 15% of the from sale, and if, having acknowl-

a particular purpose, the correct- successful bid price. In addition, edged an opening bid, he In addition to other remedies

ness of the catalogue or other the purchaser will also be decides that any advance there- available to us by law, we
description of the physical condi- required to pay an amount equal after is insufficient, he may reject reserve the right to impose from

tion, size, quality, rarity, impor- to the face value of the Property the advance. the date of sale a late charge of

tance, medium, provenance, of $20.00. 1 1/2% per month of the total

exhibitions, literature or historical 7 On the fall of the auctioneer's purchase price if payment is not

relevance of any Property and no 4 Sotheby's reserves the right to hammer or otherwise at the con- made in accordance with the

statement anywhere, whether withdraw any Property before clusion of the auction, the high- conditions set forth herein. The

oral or written, whether made in the sale and shall have no liability est bidder acknowledged by the Property must be removed from

the catalogue, an advertisement, whatsoever for such withdrawal. auctioneer shall be entitled to the Mint's premises by the pur-

a bill of sale, a salesroom post- receive title to the Property upon chaser at his expense not later

ing or announcement, or else- 5 Sotheby's reserves the right to payment in full on or before the than 35 calendar days following

where, shall be deemed such a reject any bid. The highest bidder settlement date which shall be its sale and, if it is not so

warranty, representation or acknowledged by the auctioneer no later than 35 calendar days removed, a handling charge of

assumption of liability. Sotheby's will be the purchaser. In the after the close of the auction, 1 % of the total purchase price

and the Mint make no represen- event of any dispute between unless other payment arrange- per month from the 35th day
tations and warranties, express bidders, or in the event of doubt ments satisfactory to the Mint, after the sale until its removal

or implied, as to whether the on Sotheby's part as to the validi- Sotheby's and the purchaser are will be payable to the Mint by

purchaser acquires any copy- ty of any bid, the auctioneer will made in advance of the auction. the purchaser, with a minimum
rights, including but not limited have the final discretion to deter- The purchaser shall pay the Mint of 5% of the total purchase price

to, any reproduction rights in any mine the successful bidder, can- directly by certified or cashier's for any Property not so removed

Property. We and the Consignor cel the sale, or to reoffer and check, or wire transfer (pursuant within 60 days after the sale.

are not responsible for errors resell the article in dispute. If any to the Mint's written instruc- If any applicable conditions here-

and omissions in the catalogue, dispute arises after the sale, our tions), payable to "Treasurer of in are not complied with by the

glossary, or any supplemental sale record is conclusive. the United States." Upon receipt purchaser, the purchaser will be

material. Although in our discretion we of payment in full from the pur- in default and in addition to any

will execute order or absentee chaser, the Mint will provide and all other remedies available

bids or accept telephone bids as access to the Property for pick- to Sotheby's and the Mint by
 9

law, including, without limitation, deemed to have granted and 10 In accordance with the
the right to hold the purchaser assigned to Sotheby's and our Supremacy Clause of the United

liable for the total purchase price, affiliated companies, a continuing States Constitution, the Mint is

including all fees, charges and security interest of first priority not obligated to charge or collect

expenses more fully set forth in any Property or money of or any state sales tax, including

herein, Sotheby's and the Mint, owing to such purchaser in our New York State sales tax, as a

at our option, may (a) cancel the possession or in the possession result of the sale of a United

sale of that, or any other lot or of any of Sotheby's affiliated States Government asset.

lots sold to the defaulting pur- companies and we may retain

chaser at the same or any other and apply such Property or 11 These Conditions of Sale and

auction, retaining as liquidated money as collateral security for Terms of Guarantee, as well as

damages all payments made by the obligations due to us or to the purchaser's and Sotheby's

the purchaser, or (b) resell the any affiliated company of ours. respective rights and obligations

purchased Property, whether at Sotheby's shall have all of the hereunder, shall be governed by

public auction or by private sale, rights accorded a secured party and construed and enforced in

or (c) effect any combination under the New York Uniform accordance with applicable feder-

thereof. In any case, the purchas- Commercial Code. Payment will al law. By bidding at an auction,

er will be liable for any deficien- not be deemed to have been whether present in person or by

cy, any and all costs, handling made in full until the Mint has agent, order bid, telephone or

charges, late charges, expenses collected good funds. other means, the purchaser shall

of both sales, Sotheby's commis- be deemed to have consented to

sions on both sales at our regu- Property in this catalogue is the jurisdiction of the state

lar rates, legal fees and expens- offered subject to a published courts of, and the federal courts

es, collection fees and incidental reserve, which is the minimum sitting in, the State of New York.
damages. We may, in our sole price acceptable to the

discretion, apply any proceeds of Consignor. The reserve will not 12 Neither Sotheby's nor the Mint is

sale then due or thereafter exceed the low presale estimate responsible for the acts or omis-

becoming due to the purchaser stated in the catalogue, or as sions in packing or shipping of

from Sotheby's or any affiliated amended by oral or posted the Property or of other carriers

company, or any payment made notices. Sotheby's may imple- or packers, whether or not rec-

by the purchaser to us or any ment such reserve by opening ommended by Sotheby's.

affiliated company, whether or the bidding on behalf of the Mint Packing and handling of the

not intended to reduce the pur- and may bid up to the amount of Property is at the entire risk of

chaser's obligations with respect the reserve, by placing succes- the purchaser.

to the unpaid lot or lots, to the sive or consecutive bids for a lot,

deficiency and any other or bids in response to other bid- 13 In no event will Sotheby's or the

any ders. In instances where Mint's liability to a purchaser

amounts due to Sotheby's or

affiliated companies. In addition, Sotheby's has an interest in the exceed the purchase price actu-

be other than our commission, ally paid.

a defaulting purchaser will lot

we may bid up to the reserve to

protect such interest.

 TERMS OF The authenticity of the
Property described in this
GUARANTEE FOR
catalogue is guaranteed on
NUMISMATIC AND
the terms and conditions
RELATED set forth below.
PROPERTY

the other information which appears Adjectival descriptions and termi-

1 Guarantee Coverage. Unless recognized experts in field,

mutually acceptable to in the catalogue entry, including nology (which can and do vary
otherwise indicated in the cata-
but not limited to description of among experts and knowledge-
logue description or unless phys- Sotheby's, the Mint and the pur-
condition. Although due care is able purchasers), when utilized in
ical inspection would reveal self- chaser, before Sotheby's deter-
taken to insure the correctness the catalogue, are strictly the
evident lack of authenticity, the mines whether to rescind a sale

the of such other information, the opinion of the cataloguer, shall

Mint and Sotheby’s guarantees under the above warranty. If

purchaser requests, Sotheby's Guarantee does not extend to not be deemed to be part of the
the authenticity of the Property
any possible errors or omissions description, and are not a war-
offered for sale in this catalogue. and the Mint will provide the pur-

names of therein. ranty of any kind.

As used herein, "authenticity" chaser with the

means the information set forth experts acceptable to them. Grading descriptions in this cata-
No lot may be returned for any
in Bold Type Heading of the cata- logue are provided strictly for the
2 Non-Assionabilitv. It is specifi- reason whatsoever without
logue description. If within five
Sotheby's prior written consent, convenience of those who bid by
cally understood that the bene-
years from the date of sale of a any event, has been mail and who are unable to per-
fits of this Guarantee are not [or, in if it

purchased lot, the original pur- con- sonally inspect the Property, and
assignable and shall be applica- removed from its original

chaser of record tenders to The Property may not be represent the cataloguer's opin-
ble only to the original purchaser tainer].
Sotheby's the Property in the ion of the lot's state of preserva-
of the lot and not to the subse- returned by a purchaser who has
same condition as when sold tion. Those attending the sale
quent owners or others who personally inspected the lot prior

and it is established that the and those bidders who actually

have or may acquire an interest to purchasing it, unless the limit-

authenticity of the lot set forth in

above inspect the Property should draw
therein. ed warranty provided in 1

the Bold Type Heading of this their own conclusions as to the

permits it.

catalogue description of such lot 3 Sole Remedy. It is further

state of preservation or grade of
amended by any posted specifically understood that the Grading is a subjective descrip-
(as the numismatic item.
notices or oral announcements remedy set forth herein, namely tion in the opinion of the cata-

loguer as to the state of preser- The mention of any defects or

during the sale) is not substan- the rescission of sale and refund
vation, method of strike, and damages does not signify that
tially correct based upon a fair of the original purchase price

paid for the exclusive and overall appearance of a particular others may not exist.
reading of the catalogue as a lot, is

any other remedy coin or The term "proof" or Prospective purchasers are urged
whole, including the terms of the in lieu of lot.

which might otherwise be "specimen" is used to describe to inspect the Property personal-
Glossary, the sale of such lot will avail-

method of manufacture, and is ly, Provision of description does

be rescinded and the original able as a matter of law. a

not negate Paragraph of the

purchase price refunded by the not a grade or condition or an 1

4 Exclusions. The Guarantee cov- which pro-

attribution. Conditions of Sale,
Mint and Sotheby's (solely to the
ers only the catalogue descrip- lots are sold "AS
portion of the
vides that all
extent of its
tion of the authenticity of Sotheby’s does not represent
Sotheby’s IS." The Property may not be
buyer's premium). It is
Property as defined in Paragraph that a numismatic item has or
returned by floor or order bidders
general policy, and Sotheby's
1 above, and does not extend to has not been cleaned, that any
except for reasons of authentici-
shall have the right to have the
(i) any such catalogue description toning is natural or artificial, that
ty as provided in Paragraph 1
purchaser obtain, at the purchas-
which may be proven inaccurate a numismatic item has a particu-
expense, the opinion of two above.
er's
by means of scientific processes lar provenance or pedigree, that

not generally available or accept- a numismatic item is struck or

ed for use until after the publica- not struck, or produced or not

tion of the catalogue, or (ii) any produced in a particular manner

or style
BUYING AT The following will help in Terms of Guarantee in this announcement or posted

AUCTION understanding the auction catalogue, as well as the notices, which together
buying process as well as Glossary or any other form the sale contract
some of the terms and notices. By bidding at auc- between the successful
symbols commonly used tion, bidders are bound by bidder (purchaser),
in an auction catalogue. All the Conditions of Sale and Sotheby's and the seller
bidders should read the Terms of Guarantee, as (consignor) of the lot.

Conditions of Sale and amended by any oral

SYMBOL KEY BEFORE THE AUCTION logue the history of ownership SALESROOM NOTICES
of a work of art if such informa-
Reserves THE CATALOGUE Salesroom notices amend the
tion contributes to scholarship or
catalogue description of a lot
Unless indicated by a box (D), A catalogue prepared by is otherwise well known and
after our catalogue has gone to
all lots In this catalogue are Sotheby's is published for every assists in distinguishing the
press. They are posted in the
offered subject to a reserve. A scheduled live auction and is work of art. However, the identi-
viewing galleries and salesroom
reserve Is the confidential mini- available prior to the sale date. ty of the seller or previous own-
or are announced by the auction-
mum auction price established The catalogue will help familiar- ers may not be disclosed for a
eer. Please take note of them.
between Sotheby's and the sell- ize you with property being variety of reasons. For example,

er and below which a lot will not offered at the designated auc- such information may be exclud-
DURING THE AUCTION
be sold. The reserve is generally tion. Catalogues may be pur- ed to accommodate a seller's

set at a percentage of the low chased at Sotheby's or by sub- request for confidentiality or THE AUCTION
estimate and will not exceed the scription in any categories. For because the identity of prior
Auctions are open to the public
low estimate of the lot. The information, please call 800 444 owners is unknown given the
without any admission fee or
symbol is not used if all the lots 3709: outside the U.S., 203 847 age of the work of art.
obligation to bid. The auctioneer
have a reserve. If any lots in the 0465; or visit www.sothebys.
SPECIALIST ADVICE introduces the objects for sale -
catalogue are offered without com/shop.
known as "lots" - in numerical
reserve, the lots subject to a Prospective bidders may be
order as listed in the catalogue.
reserve will be designated by a ESTIMATES interested in specific information
Unless otherwise noted in the
box (). not included in the catalogue
Each lot in the catalogue is given catalogue or by an announce-
description of a lot. For addition-
O G uaranteed Property a low and high estimate, indicat- ment at the auction, Sotheby's
al information, please contact
ing to a prospective buyer a acts as agent on behalf of the
The seller of lots with this sym- either a Sotheby's specialist in
range in which the lot might sell seller and does not permit the
bol has been guaranteed a mini- charge of the sale (all of whom
at auction. When possible, the seller to bid on his or her own
mum price from one auction or are listed in the front of the cata-
estimate is based on previous property. It is important for all
a series of auctions. If every lot logue), or Sotheby's Client
auction records of comparable bidders to know that the auc-
in a catalogue is guaranteed, the Services Department. You may
pieces. The estimates are deter- tioneer may open the bidding on
Conditions of Sale will so state also request a condition report
mined several months before a any lot by placing a bid on behalf
and this symbol will not be used from the specialist in charge.
sale and are therefore subject to of the seller. The auctioneer may
for each lot.
further bid on behalf of the sell-
change upon further research of
THE EXHIBITION
A Property in which the property, or to reflect market
er, up to the amount of the
Sotheby's has an ownership conditions or currency fluctua- An exhibition of the auction reserve, by placing responsive or

interest tions. Estimates should not be property will be held the week consecutive bids for a lot. The

prior to the auction on the days auctioneer will not place consec-
Lots with this symbol indicate
relied upon as a representation or

prediction of actual selling prices. listed in the front of the cata- utive bids on behalf of the seller
that Sotheby's owns the lot in

logue. There you will have the above the reserve

whole or in part or has an eco-

nomic interest in the lot equiva- PROVENANCE opportunity to view, inspect and

lent to an ownership interest. evaluate the property yourself,

in certain circumstances,
or with the help of a Sotheby's
Sotheby's may print in the cata-
specialist.
 .

TELEPHONE BIDDING RESULTS PAYMENT BY CASH

BIDDING IN PERSON
Successful absentee bidders will It is against Sotheby's general
If you would like to bid, you In some circumstances, we offer

after the sale. policy to accept single or multi-

upon the ability to place bids by tele- be notified
must register for a paddle
receive a ple related payments in the form
phone to a Sotheby's repre- Absentee bidders will
entering the salesroom. The pad- live

of sale results if they enclose of cash or cash equivalents in

dle IS numbered so as to identify sentative on the auction floor. list

stamped self-addressed enve- excess of the local currency

Please contact the Bid a
you to the auctioneer. To regis-
lope with their absentee bid equivalent of US $10,000. It is
need a form of iden- Department prior to the sale to
ter, you will
form. Printed lists of auction Sotheby's policy to request any
tification such as a driver's make arrangements or to

prices are available at our gal- new clients or purchasers prefer-

license or credit card. If you are answer any questions you may
leries approximately three ring to make a cash payment to
a first-time bidder, you will also have. Telephone bids are accept-
weeks following each auction provide: verification of identity
be asked for your address, ed only at Sotheby's discretion
may and are sent on request to cata- (by providing some form of gov-
phone number and signature in and at the caller's risk. Calls

logue purchasers and sub- ernment issued identification

order to create your account. If also be recorded at Sotheby's
scribers. Results may also be containing a photograph, such as
you are bidding for someone discretion. By bidding on the
obtained by contacting the 24- a passport, identity card or dri-
else, you will need to provide a telephone, prospective buyers
hour Recorded Information ver's license), confirmation of
letter from that person authoriz- consent thereto.
Results Line, or online at permanent address and identifi-
ing you to bid on that person's
EMPLOYEE BIDDING WWW. sothebys com .
cation of the source of the
behalf. Issuance of a bid paddle
funds.
Sotheby’s sole discretion. Sotheby's employees may bid in
is in INTERNATIONAL
a Sotheby's auction only if the PAYMENT BY CREDIT
Once the first bid has been
AUCTIONS
employee does not know the CARDS
placed, the auctioneer asks for you need assistance placing
reserve and if the employee fully If

higher bids, in increments deter- bids, obtaining condition reports To pay for a purchase with
complies with Sotheby's internal
mined by the auctioneer. To or receiving auction results for a Mastercard or Visa, you must
rules governing employee bid-
place your bid, simply raise your Sotheby's sale outside the present Sotheby's with your card
ding.
paddle until the auctioneer United States, please contact in person. Credit card purchases

acknowledges you. You will HAMMER PRICE ANDTHE may not exceed $25,000. In the
our International Client Services
know when your bid has been BUYER'S PREMIUM Department. case where a credit card charge

acknowledged; the auctioneer is not approved, the purchaser is

For lots which are sold, the last
will not mistake a random ges-
price for a lot as announced by AFTER THE AUCTION still liable to Sotheby's for all

ture for a bid.

hammer sums incurred.
the auctioneer the
is
PAYMENT
ABSENTEE BIDDING price. A buyer's premium will be PAYMENT BY CHECK
your bid is successful, you can
added to the hammer price and If

If it is not possible for you to go directly to Client Accounting To pay for a purchase by check,
is payable by the purchaser as
attend the auction in person, you to make payment arrangements. please see our cashier and fill
part of the total purchase price.
may place your bid ahead of Otherwise, your invoice will be out a Check Acceptance
The buyer’s premium will be the
time. In the back of every cata- mailed to you. The final price is Account form. Until approved,
amount stated in the Conditions
logue there is an absentee bid determined by adding the you will not be permitted to
of Sale.
form, which you can use to indi-
buyer's premium to the hammer remove purchases before the
cate the item you wish to bid on CURRENCY BOARD price on a per-lot basis. Sales check has cleared. Check accep-
and the maximum bid you are tax, where applicable, will be tance privileges are reviewed
As a courtesy to bidders, a cur-
willing to make. Return the com- charged on the entire amount. from time to time by Sotheby’s
rency board is operated in many
pleted absentee bid form to Payment is due in full immedi- and may be granted or with-
salesrooms. It displays the lot
Sotheby's either by mail or fax. ately after the sale. However, drawn at our sole discretion.
number and current bid in both
When the lot that you are inter-
under certain circumstances and Checks should be made payable
U.S. dollars and foreign curren-
ested in comes up for sale, a generally with the seller's agree- to Sotheby's. Note that checks
cies. Exchange rates are approxi-
Sotheby's representative will
ment, Sotheby's may offer buy- drawn on foreign banks may not
mations based on recent
execute the bid on your behalf, ers it deems creditworthy the be accepted for values under
exchange rate information and
making every effort to purchase option of an extended payment $500, and that there is a $100
should not be relied upon as a
the item for as little as possible plan. Credit terms should be collection charge minimum on
precise invoice amount.
and never exceeding your limit.
arranged prior to the sale. checks drawn on foreign banks
Sotheby's assumes no responsi-
This service is free and confi-
Please contact Client Accounting located outside the U.S.
bility for any error or omission in
dential. For detailed instructions or the specialist in charge of the Certified checks, banker's drafts
foreign or United States curren-
and information, please see the sale for information on credit and cashier's checks are accept-
cy amounts shown.
Absentee Bid Form and Guide arrangements for a particular lot. ed at Sotheby’s discretion and
for Absentee Bidders instruc-
provided they are issued by a
tions at the back of this cata- reputable financial institution
logue governed by anti-money launder-
ing laws. Instruments not meet-

4 '
ing these requirements will be transferred property will no If you are using your own ship- Although licenses can be
treated as "cash equivalents" longer be in Sotheby's custody per to collect property from obtained to export some types
and subject to the constraints or care, Sotheby's Art Transport Sotheby's, please complete Part of endangered species, other
noted in the prior paragraph Department will not be able to I of Sotheby's Shipping types may not be exported at all,

titled "Payment By Cash" assist you with pick-up or ship- Instruction Form and return it to and other types may not be
ping arrangements. To avoid the Client Accounting resold in the United States.
PAYMENT BY WIRE
storage charges, please arrange Department within 30 days of Upon request, Sotheby's is will-
TRANSFER
for the removal of your purchas- the date of sale. Kindly instruct ing to assist the purchaser in

Payment by wire transfer should es as soon as possible. your shipper that they must fax attempting to obtain the appro-
be directed to: Chase their bill of lading to the Art priate licenses and/or certifi-
CLIENT PICKUP OF
Manhattan Bank, 55 Water Transport Department by noon cates, However, there is no
PROPERTY
Street, New York, NY 10041, the day prior to collection. Your assurance that an export license
Sotheby's Account #006-064604, As a courtesy to purchasers who shipper must collect your pur- or certificate can be obtained.

ABA routing 021-000021 come to Sotheby's to pick up chases within 30 days of the Sotheby's will charge a mini-
(domestic), SWIFT Address: property, Sotheby's will assist in date of sale. Property will not be mum fee of $150 per item if it is

CHASUS33, Chips Number: 002 the packing of lots, although released if this procedure is not able to obtain an export license

(International). Please include Sotheby's may, in the case of followed. Please see the or certificate. Please check with

your account number and sale fragile articles, choose not to Conditions of Sale for further the specialist department or the

and lot numbers. pack or otherwise handle a pur- details. Art Transport Department if you
chase. Sotheby's will not be are uncertain as to whether a lot
SALES TAX To receive an estimate of ship-
responsible or liable for damage is subject to these export/import
ping costs, a Shipping
New York sales tax is charged on to glass covering paintings, license and certificate require-
Instruction Form, or for further
the hammer price, buyer's pre- drawings or other works, or ments, or any other restrictions
information, please call the Art
mium and any other applicable damage to frames, regardless of on exportation.
Transport Department, or the
charges on any property picked the cause.
regional office in your area. To THE ART LOSS REGISTER
up or delivered in New York
SHIPPING OF PROPERTY find out if your purchase has
State, regardless of the state or As part of Sotheby's efforts to
been relocated to a public ware-
country in which the purchaser As a courtesy to purchasers, support only the legitimate art
house, please call Sotheby's
resides or does business. Sotheby's is pleased to assist market and to combat the illegiti-
Property Pick-up Department.
Purchasers who supply you in making arrangements for mate market in stolen property,

Sotheby's with a valid tax the shipping and in-transit insur- ENDANGERED SPECIES Sotheby's have retained the Art

exemption from the State of ance of your purchases. Loss Register to check all
Certain property sold at auction,
New York in advance of the uniquely identifiable items
With your invoice you will for example, items made of or
release of the property qualify offered for sale in this catalogue
receive a Sotheby's Shipping incorporating plant or animal
for a waiver of New York State that are estimated at more than
Instruction Form. Please return materials such as coral, croco-
Sales Tax. Sotheby's will also col- the equivalent of US$1,500
the completed form, along with dile, ivory, whalebone, tortoise-
lect taxes on purchases shipped against the Art Loss Register's
payment, to Sotheby's Client shell, etc., irrespective of age or
to California, Connecticut, computerised database of
Accounting Department within value, may require a license or
Florida, Georgia, Illinois, objects reported as stolen or
30 days of the date of sale. certificate prior to exportation
Maryland, Massachusetts, lost. The Art Loss Register is

Upon receipt of payment and and additional licenses or certifi-

Minnesota, New Jersey, pleased to provide purchasers
Part II of the completed cates upon importation to anoth-
Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington with a certificate confirming that
Shipping Instruction Form, er country. Sotheby's suggests
State and Washington, D.C. If
a search has been made. All
Sotheby's will instruct fine art that buyers check on their gov-
inquiries regarding search certifi-
you have any questions concern-
packers and carriers pursuant to ernment wildlife import require-
ing this, please contact our cates should be directed to The
your instructions. Please note ments prior to placing a bid.
Client Accounting Department. Art Loss Register, 12 Grosvenor
that the shipper reserves the Please note that the ability to
Place, London SW1X 7HH or by
PICKUP AND DELIVERY right to amend shipping instruc- obtain an export license or cer-
email at [email protected].
tions in order to comply with tificate does not ensure the abili-
The Art Loss Register does not
Once your payment has been an import license or
carrier or insurance require- ty to obtain
guarantee the provenance or title
cleared, property may be another country,
ments. If instructions are certificate in
of any catalogued item against
released. Unless otherwise
amended, the shipper will notify and vice versa. It is the purchas-
which they search, and will not
agreed by Sotheby's, all purchas-
you. All shipments will be pre- er's responsibility to obtain any
be liable for any direct or conse-
es should be removed by the
paid or sent C.O.D. Please allow export or import licenses and/or
quential losses of any nature
10th day following a sale. After
4-6 weeks for delivery. As ship- certificates as well as any other
howsoever arising. This state-
30 days, property (except jewel- the
ping costs can be expensive, we required documentation. In
ment and the ALR's service do
ry, coins, stamps or as
suggest that you request a quo- case of denial of any export or
not effect your rights and obliga-
announced by the auctioneer) is
import license or of delay in the
tation from our Art Transport tions under the Conditions of
transferred to a third-party ware-
Department. obtaining of such licenses, the
Business applicable to the sale
house at the purchaser's risk responsible for
purchaser is still

and subject to storage charges

making on-time payment of the
at the purchaser's expense. As for the lot.
total purchase price
SELLING AT If you have property you SOTHEBY'S Sotheby's also offers a

AUCTION wish to sell, Sotheby's range of other services to

SERVICES
team of specialists and our clients beyond buying
client services representa- and selling at auction.

tives will assist you These services are summa-

through the entire process. rized below. For further
Simply contact the appro- information on any of the
priate specialist (specialist services described below,
departments are listed in please see the following
the back of this catalogue), Client Services contact
General Inquiries page.
Department or a Sotheby's
3)
regional office representa-
tive for suggestions on
how best to arrange for
evaluation of your
property.

PROPERTY EVALUATION In your home: APPRAISALS MUSEUM SERVICES

Evaluations of property can also
There are three general ways An appraisal is a written docu- Tailored to meet the unique
be made in your home. The fees
evaluation of property can be ment providing an opinion with needs of museums and nonprof-
for such visits are based on the
conducted: respect to the insurance or fair its in the marketplace. Museum
scope and diversity of property,
market value of an item. Services offers personal, profes-
with travel expenses additional.
1) In our galleries Sotheby's Appraisal Company sional assistance and advice in
These fees may be rebated if

You may bring your property can prepare appraisals for insur- areas including appraisals, deac-
you consign your property for
directly to our galleries where ance, estate tax, charitable con- cessions, acquisitions and spe-
sale at Sotheby's. If there is con-
our specialists will give you auc- tributions, family division or cial events.
siderable property in question,
tion estimates and advice. There other purposes. Appraisal fees
we can arrange for an informal
is no charge for this service, but vary according to the nature and CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
"walkthrough."
we request that you telephone amount of work involved, but
Devoted to servicing corpora-
ahead for an appointment. the fee will be refunded pro rata
Once your property has been tions, Sotheby's Corporate
Inspection hours are 9:30 am to if the appraised property is con-
evaluated, Sotheby's representa- Collections Department can pre-
5 pm, Monday through Friday. signed to us for sale within one
tives can then help you deter- pare appraisal reports, advise on
year of the appraisal.
mine how to proceed should you acquisitions and deaccessions,
2) By photograph
wish to continue with the auc- FINANCIAL SERVICES manage all aspects of consign-
If your property is not portable,
tion process. They will provide ment, assist in developing arts-
or if you are not able to visit our Sotheby's offers a wide range of
information regarding sellers' management strategies and cre-
galleries, you may bring in or financial services including
commission rates and other ate events catering to a corpora-
send a clear photograph of each advances on consignments, as
charges, auction venue, shipping tion's needs.
item. If you have a large collec- well as loans secured by art col-
and any further services you
tion, a representative selection lections not intended for sale.
may require. INSURANCE BROKERAGE
of photographs will do. Please
SOTHEBY'S VENTURES SERVICES
be sure to include the dimen-
sions, artist's signature or Sotheby's Insurance Brokerage
Sotheby’s Private Treaty Sales
maker’s mark, medium, physical Services, association
team can conduct discreet sales Inc., in

condition and any other relevant with J&H Marsh & McLennan,
of property in cases where the
information. Our specialists will
consignor requests a confiden- Inc., is pleased to offer insur-
provide a free preliminary auc- ance programs to U.S, home-
tial forum, or when we believe
tion estimate subject to a final owners, collectors, dealers,
that private sale offers greater
estimate upon first-hand inspec- museums and estates.
benefits than selling at auction.
tion.
CLIENT SERVICES

GENERAL INQUIRIES CLIENT SERVICES DIVISION INTERNATIONAL CLIENT SOTHEBY'S INSURANCE

SERVICES BROKERAGE SERVICES,
Auction & Exhibition Information Private Client Services
INC.
Susan VR Barrett 606 7010 (assistance for the private collec- Natsuko Hidaka 606 7525
Switchboard 606 7000 tor in all aspects of buying and 877 299 6333
selling at auction) INVESTOR RELATIONS
24 HOUR RECORDED James G. Niven 606 7549 SOTHEBY'S
Sarah Brierley 894 2099
INFORMATION Roberta Louckx 606 7415 INTERNATIONAL REALTY
Mallory Hathaway 606 7447
Spoken auction results MUSEUM SERVICES Beth Heard-Laffey 606 7500
Geraldine Nager Griffin
606 7901
606 7568 David Roche 894 1138
Faxed auction results SOTHEBY'S RESTORATION
Georgia Chapin Carson
606 7950
606 7446 PRESS OFFICE / Furniture and Decorations
Lisa Heller 606 7468 CORPORATE AFFAIRS Brian Stair 894 1730
CATALOGUE Brad Bentoff 606 7252
SUBSCRIPTIONS Diana Phillips 606 7176
SOTHEBY'S VENTURES
To order catalogues & price lists
Matthew Weigman
New Collectors
800 444 3709 Ian Irving 606 7368
(assistance for the new collector
Inquiries SHIPPING & CUSTOMS Shelley Fischer 894 1144
in all aspects of buying and sell-

Gloria Testa 203 849 4920 INQUIRIES Catherine Chiarella 894 1146
ing at auction)

Alieda de Havenon Keevil 606 7511

CLIENT ACCOUNTING TRUST & ESTATE SERVICES
606 7005
Marge Buchta 606 7490 SOTHEBY'S APPRAISAL Warren P Weitman, Jr.

Bid Department COMPANY 606 7198

(assistance in placing absentee William S. Cottingham
Libby Alexander 894 1126
bids for North American 606 7124
auctions) Amy Corcoran 894 1254
SOTHEBY'S FINANCIAL
Eliza Osborne 606 7414 Elizabeth Goldberg 894 1117
SERVICES, INC.
Christian Jussel 606 7993
CORPORATE COLLECTIONS Shelley Fischer 894 1144 Deborah Schmidt Robinson
Catherine Chiarella 894 1146 894 1122
Naomi Baigell 894 1135
Kathryn Wilmerding 894 1125
SOTHEBY'S INSTITUTE OF
EVENTS & SPONSORSHIP
ART
MARKETING
J. Thomas Savage 894 1111
Amy Todd Middleton 606 7375
Gina Greer
Caroline Rocco
Vincent R Plescia
 SPECIALIST DEPARTMENTS

AFRICAN & OCEANIC ART ANTIQUITIES CONTEMPORARY INDIAN, HIMALAYAN,

PAINTINGS, SOUTHEAST ASIAN WORKS
New York New York
DRAWINGS & SCULPTURE OF ART & CONTEMPORARY
Jean G. Fritts 894 1312 Richard M. Keresey 606 7266
INDIAN PAINTINGS
Florent Heintz Tobias Meyer 606 7254
Liaison in London Laura Paulson Edward Wilkinson 606 7304
Jocelyne Timm 020 7293 5116 Liaison in London Leslie Prouty David Weldont
Jocelyne Timm 020 7293 5109 Matthew Carey-Williams
AMERICAN DECORATIVE ISLAMIC WORKS OF ART
ARTS & FURNITURE ARMS & ARMOUR ENGLISH FURNITURE
Richard M. Keresey 606 7266
John B. A. Nye 606 7130 Liaison in London Peter Lang 606 7577
William W. Stahl, Jr. 606 7110 Thomas Del Mar Simon Redburn JAPANESE ART
Leslie B. Keno 606 7130 020 7293 5805 Christian Jussel
Ryoichi lida 606 7338
Wendell Garrett 606 7137 Ian Eavest
Sachiko Hori
Jurg Meiert EUROPEAN FURNITURE
AMERICAN FOLK ART
Gillian M. Arthur 606 7213 JEWELRY
BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
Nancy Druckman 606 7225 Mary Frances Cunningham
Carlton C. Rochell, Jr.
David N. Redden 606 7386
606 7392
AMERICAN INDIAN ART Selby Kiffer EUROPEAN WORKS OF ART
Gary Schuler
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August 0. Uribe
606 7856
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COLLECTIBLES Eve Reppen Rogers

312 396 9558
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JUDAICA PHOTOGRAPHS RUSSIAN ART, ICONS, Sothebys.com
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PORCELAIN:
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894 1442 Andrew C. Rose Lark Mason 606 7973

606 7938

POSTAGE STAMPS SPORTS MEMORABILIA JEWELS AND WATCHES

19TH CENTURY EUROPEAN
PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS & 606 7915 606 7910 Christina Addison 606 7951

SCULPTURE Alejandra Solomone 894 1240

PRE-COLUMBIAN ART 20TH CENTURY WORKS OF

Benjamin F Doller 606 7140 BOOKS, COINS AND
ART
Polly Sartori Stacy Goodman 894 1310
STAMPS
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Frank Maraschiello
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19TH CENTURY
FURNITURE, VINTAGE CARS Leila Dunbar 606 7910
PRINTS
DECORATIONS & WORKS Dana Hawkes
(OLD MASTER AND 606 7920
OF ART
MODERN)
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Mary Bartow 606 7117
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS
Dr. Nancy Bialler
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George Wachter 606 7230 Adrienne Scholz

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t International

Drawings t Consultant
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1
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t International Representative

t Consultant
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Internet Consultant
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Via Triumphalis 127 PTE.

Henry Howard-Sneyd SINGAPORE RIO DE JANEIRO
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Managing Director, China and Katia Mindlin Leite Barbosa*
Esther Seet Monterrey 66220, Nuevo Leon
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Managing Director Telephone: 528 675 7573
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TAIWAN R.O.C. Bloco 1 ,
Apt 2503,
INDONESIA Piso 9, Qfc. 91
Sao Conrado
Winnie Chang Avenida Romulo Gallegos
Martina Sudwikatmono* 22610-000 Gavea
Managing Director con calle El Carmen
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Sotheby's Representative
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Cecilia Miquel*
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Thailand
c/o Hong Kong Office Dpto. 602, Las Condes
Telephone: 662 286 0788
Telephone: 852 2524 8121 Santiago, Chile
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Fax: 562 231 8936
MALAYSIA
AUSTRALIA
Walter Cheah
MEXICO
Justin Miller
Managing Director MEXICO CITY
Chairman
25 Jalan Pudu Lama AnaYturbe de Sepulveda
Martin Gallon
50200 Kuala Lumpur Campos Eliseos 325-5 Polanco
Managing Director
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Fax: 61 3 9563 5067

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• Associate of Sotheby's
t International Representative

t Consultant
'4
HEADQUARTERS HOUSTON NAPLES SEATTLE
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BERMUDA
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MIAMI
Chairman, Southeast
Gary Metzner 288 King Street East
F.
Douglas Entrance
Hope R Kent*
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Serena Ritch Director
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Virginia Guest Valentinet CREDITS
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Barbara C. Riegel* Minneapolis, Minnesota 55419 SAN FRANCISCO Liz Leggett

PO. Box 67 Telephone: 612 308 2550 Jennifer Foley Biederbeck

IMAGE EDITOR
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PHOTOGRAPHY
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Fax: 415 772 9031

PRODUCTION
COORDINATOR

Erin Smith
 ABSENTEE BID FORM
Name (please print or type) Date

SALE TITLE
Sotheby's Card No. Sotheby's Account No.
The 1933 Double Eagle

DATE
Address
July 30, 2002

SALE CODE
City State Zip Code
"STRANG" 7817

IMPORTANT
Please see reverse side of this
Telephone/ Home Business

form before completing the Bid

Form. Fax Email

Please check if this is a new address.

I wish to place the following bids
for this sale to be held on July 30, Payment Note:
2002. These bids are to be execut- If you wish to pay for any purchase made by absentee bid with a Visa or Mastercard, you must
ed by Sotheby's up to but not present the card in person to Sotheby's.
exceeding the amount or amounts
Bank reference or deposit (if bidder is unknown to Sotheby's)
specified below. Each bid is PER
LOT, as indicated, and all bids will

be executed and are accepted

Bank Name Account
subject to the "Conditions of

Sale" and "Terms of Guarantee"

printed in the catalogue of this Contact Telephone

sale. Please note that a buyer's

premium in the amount stated in

I agree that I am bound by the "Conditions of Sale" and any "Terms of Guarantee" which are
paragraph 3 of the "Conditions of published in the catalogue for the sale and govern all purchases at auction that I make.
Sale" in the back of this catalogue

will be added to the hammer price

as part of the total purchase price, Signed (We must have your signature to execute this bid.)
plus any applicable sales tax.

Please mail or fax to Lot Number Catalogue/Description Top Limit of Bid

Sotheby's Bid Department (Bid is per lot (Please print or type) including the
number as listed buyer's premium
1334 York Avenue
in the catalogue)
New York, N.Y 10021
Telephone: 212 606 7414
$
Fax: 212 606 7016

$
FILLING OUTTHE
ABSENTEE
$
BID FORM
When filling out the absentee bid $
form, be sure to accurately record

the lot numbers and, descriptions $

and the top price you are willing to

pay for each lot. "Buy" or unlimited

bids will not be accepted. Always execute bids for alternative lots identical bids, the earliest received sale. Absentee bidders will receive

indicate a "top limit" — the amount until a bid is successful. Bids must will take precedence. a list of sale results if they enclosed

up to which you would bid if you always be placed in the same order a stamped self-addressed envelope
Please note that Sotheby's offers
were attending the auction yourself. as the lot numbers appear in the with their absentee bid form.
this service as a convenience to
catalogue.
Alternative bids should be indicated clients who are unable to attend Arranging Payment: In order to

by using the word "OR" between Each absentee bid form should the sale, although we will make avoid delays in receiving purchases,

lot numbers Then if your bid on an contain bids for one sale only. The every effort, Sotheby's will not be buyers unknown to us are advised

early lot IS successful, we will not number and code name should responsible for error or failure to to make payment arrangements or

continue to bid on other lots for appear in the top right-hand corner execute bids. supply credit references in advance
you Or, if your early bids are of the form. Please place your bids of the sale date Otherwise, pur-
Successful absentee bidders will
uri'.ucces'iful, we will continue to as early as possible. In the event of
be notified within three
chases cannot leave the premises
days of the
until checks have cleared
SOTHEBY'S NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA SOTHEBY'S HOLDINGS, INC.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Warren R Weitman, Jr. William S. Cottingham Roberta Louckx Michael I. Sovern

Chairman C. Hugh Hildesley Tobias Meyer Chairman
Carlton C. Rochell, Jr. Dara Mitchell
Max M. Fisher
Richard E. Oldenburg Executive Vice Charles S. Moffett
Vice Chairman
Honorary Chairman Presidents David Norman
David G. Ober Marquess of Hartington

John L. Marion Benjamin F. Doller Diana Phillips Deputy Chairman

Honorary Chairman Nancy Druckman Peter Rathbone William F. Ruprecht
Helyn D. Goldenberg Stuart Siegel President and Chief

James G. Niven Phillips Hathaway Larry Sirolli Executive Officer

Ian Irving Kevin Tierney
David N. Redden Robin Woodhead
William W. Stahl, Jr.
Leslie Keno Andrea Van de Kamp
Executive Vice President and
George Wachter Richard M. Keresey Richard S. Wolf
Chief Executive, Europe and Asia
Vice Chairmen

The Hon
Conrad M. Black, PC., O.C

Richard C. Buckley Jeffrey Pierne The Viscount Blakenham

Managing Director, Chief Financial Officer, George S. Blumenthal
Regional Auction Division, North and South America
Steven B. Dodge
North and South America
Dr. Henry G. Jarecki
Daryl S. Wickstrom Benjamin F. Doller
Henry R. Kravis
Managing Director, Head of Specialists,
Jeffrey H. Miro
Global Auction Division Regional Auction Division,
North and South America Brian S. Posner

Sharon Percy Rockefeller

Robert S.Taubman

SENIOR
VICE PRESIDENTS ADVISORY BOARD

Christopher Apostle Mallory Hathaway Laura Paulson Ambassador

Gillian Arthur Dana Hawkes Jeffrey Pierne Walter J. P Curley
Mary Bartow Lisa Hubbard Leslie Prouty Chairman
Denise Bethel Angela V. B. Hudson Simon Redburn
Giovanni Agnelli
Nancy Bialler Philip Jelley Jamie Ritchie

Richard C. Buckley Christian Jussel Jennifer Roth Lodewijk J. R. de Vink

Roberto Caballero Jerry Kasdan Polly Sartori Ann Getty
Chapin Carson Selby Kiffer Deborah Schmidt Robinson
Alexis Gregory
Amy Corcoran Blake Koh Daryn Schnipper
Stephane Cosman Connery Peter Lang Gary Schuler Alexander M. Laughlin
Michael Davis Mee-Seen Loong Karen Sutton
Sir Q.W. Lee
Barbara Deisroth Marsha Malinowski Margaret H. Schwartz
John L. Marion
Leila Dunbar Lark Mason Tracy Sherman
Jean Fritts Geraldine Nager John Tancock Donna Patrizia dei Principi

Wendell Garrett John Nye Mish Tworkowski Ruspoli Memmo

Stacy Goodman Marya Oja August 0. Uribe
The Rt. Hon.
Benjamin Hall Jon Olsoff Matthew Weigman
Sir Angus Ogiivy, K.C.V.O.
Paul Hart Mary Jo Otsea Elaine Whitmire
Carroll Petrie

Carol Price

Baron Hans Heinrich

Thyssen-Bomemisza de Kaszon
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Sotheby s /Jtaeh
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