1933 Double Eagle, Worth $7.6M, Pursued By Secret Service

From the Gainesville Coins website: one family in Philadelphia is wanted by the Secret Service. Full report from Bloomberg Business Week.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek. 

By Susan Berfield, August 26th, 2011

How did a Philadelphia family get hold of $40 million in gold coins, and why has the Secret Service been chasing them for 70 years?

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U.S. Mint/AP Photo

This coin is worth $7.6 million

The most valuable coin in the world sits in the lobby of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in lower Manhattan. It’s Exhibit 18E, secured in a bulletproof glass case with an alarm system and an armed guard nearby. The 1933 Double Eagle, considered one of the rarest and most beautiful coins in America, has a face value of $20—and a market value of $7.6 million. It was among the last batch of gold coins ever minted by the U.S. government. The coins were never issued; most of the nearly 500,000 cast were melted down to bullion in 1937.

Most, but not all. Some of the coins slipped out of the Philadelphia Mint before then. No one knows for sure exactly how they got out or even how many got out. The U.S. Secret Service, responsible for protecting the nation’s currency, has been pursuing them for nearly 70 years, through 13 Administrations and 12 different directors. The investigation has spanned three continents and involved some of the most famous coin collectors in the world, a confidential informant, a playboy king, and a sting operation at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan. It has inspired two novels, two nonfiction books, and a television documentary. And much of it has centered around a coin dealer, dead since 1990, whose shop is still open in South Philadelphia, run by his 82-year-old daughter.

“The 1933 Double Eagle is one of the most intriguing coins of all time,” says Jay Brahin, an investment adviser who has been collecting coins since he was a kid in Philadelphia. “It’s a freak. The coins shouldn’t have been minted, but they were. They weren’t meant to circulate, but some did. And why has the government pursued them so arduously? That’s one of the mysteries.”

Full Article

Luna Gold Corp Robbed of $2 million Worth of Gold

A British Colombian gold firm has reported that it was the victim of a robbery on Wednesday, and lost 1,500 ounces – or $2 million worth – of gold. The firm, Luna Gold Corp., has a mine in Aurizona, Brazil, that is unfortunately in a rather isolated location, between two cities: Sao Luis and Belem, in Maranhao state. This isolation made it easier for theft to occur. None of the employees at the Canadian-owned mine were harmed, and officials have confirmed that they have insurance, and are in the process of filing an insurance claim.

As reported by the National Post, mine officials for Luna Gold did not release an estimate on the loss, but its spot price trading rate for gold at the time was US$1,410.69, valuing the precious metal at just over $1.2 million. Canadian Business online has added that Luna was in the commissioning stage at its Aurizona gold mine.

Unfortunately, this is not the first robbery to hit Brazil in recent times. Troy Resources, based in Andorinhas, Brazil, was robbed in February of this past year and lost about $2.23 million worth of gold. In that case, the armed robbers held three employees hostage on the road before returning to steal 2,000 ounces of gold doré from the mine. Like Luna, Troy Resources was fully insured, and worked with local authorities to file an insurance claim.

Companies who operate mining companies in Brazil admit that the region comes with a certain amount of risk. Political unrest and corruption make robberies and violence more likely, as evidenced by these most recent crimes. Security and employee safety is consistently an issue. Troy Chairman John Dow spoke with press after last year’s theft and said that such risks come with the territory: “It is worth the hassle,” he is quoted as saying; “you have to go where the gold is.”