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Sale 31
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Lot 1065
1933 $10 Indian. NGC graded MS-65. This choice specimen is quite sharply struck. The details in Liberty's hair and the feathers in her headdress can be seen clearly with the naked eye, though magnification will aid appreciation of the intricate design details. Searching for an area not perfectly struck up will yield perhaps only 4 stars from 12 to 1 o'clock. On the reverse, the eagle is wonderfully detailed. One can make out every eagle feather and leg scale. The bundle of arrows upon which the eagle rests is equally detailed with every arrowhead and shaft clearly discernable. The color is deep lemon yellow gold and the surfaces are remarkably clean but for some contact marks on Liberty's nose and cheek.
Up until just a few years ago, we would have said that the 1933 Eagle was the only gold coin of that year legal to own. Now of course as one single specimen of the 1933 Double Eagle has been deemed legal by the US Treasury and has been sold publicly, we can no longer make that statement, but realistically, the 1933 $10 gold coin is still the only generally collectible gold coin of that year. As 1933 began, it was just another production year for mint employees making gold coins. During January and February, 312,500 pieces were struck. Some were delivered to the Treasury Dept. for traditional assay and testing. One hundred coins were sent to the Treasurer's office for sale to the public and from these, five coins were eventually distributed legally and publicly. The distrubution was ended by Franklin D. Roosevelt's executive order, his Presidential Proclamation 2039 on March 6, 1933 which effectively ended gold coin usage in this country.
Along with the pieces which were destroyed during assay and testing, all of the remaining 1933 Eagles were to have been melted, and the vast majority were. But since more than the five coins which were legally sold before March 6th 1933 now exist, several others obviously escaped the melting pot. Present day estimates range from 25 to 40 examples. A Secret Service investigation led authorities to conclude that the remaining supply had been filtered from Philadelphia Mint Head Cashier George McCann through the one of the city's scrap gold dealers Israel Switt. Charges against the two were considered but dropped, though the Secret Service continued their activities relative to the 1933 Double Eagle.
Now offered is perhaps one of the original five legally sold or maybe one of the very few secreted out of the mint. In any event, they all are now quite legal to own and are in fact one of America's most desired gold coins. It is in addition the key date to the series and possesses a mystique difficult to equal by all but the most fabled rarities in the US numismatic pantheon. For the past 20 years or more, it has been residing in a private collection and as such has no recent auction record. So then, here is your opportunity to complete your Indian Gold Eagle set, or begin one! After this coin, the rest should be easy. Population of only 3, with one higher in MS-66.
Estimated Value $475,000 - 525,000.
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| Realized $460,000 |
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