Family Wins Back $80m 'Double Eagle' Coins

by Guest Sun Apr 19, 2015 11:38 pm

A family has won a legal battle over 10 rare gold coins that could be worth $80m after a US appeals court overturned a jury decision.

Officials from the US Department of the Treasury had insisted the $20 Double Eagles were stolen from the US Mint in Philadelphia before the 1933 coin series was melted down when it left the gold standard.

Lawyers had said that Joan Langbord and her sons could not lawfully own the coins, which were found in a family bank deposit box in 2003.

Her father, jeweller Israel Switt, dealt with the Mint in the 1930s and was investigated twice over his coin holdings.

In 2012, a jury sided with the government. But the appeals court in Philadelphia returned the coins to the family because officials had not responded within a 90-day limit to a seized-property claim filed around 2004.

Circuit Judge Marjorie Rendell wrote: "The government knew that it was obligated to bring a judicial civil forfeiture proceeding or to return the property, but refused.

"Having failed to do so, it must return the Double Eagles to the Langbords."

Barry Berke, a lawyer for the family, said: "Congress clearly intended for there to be limits on the government's ability to seek forfeiture of citizens' property, and today's ruling reaffirms that those limits are real and won't be excused when the government violates them.

"The Langbords are thrilled to receive their property back after fighting to vindicate their rights for over a decade."

Mr Berke added that the family had not decided whether the coins will be sold.

Sculptor August Saint-Gaudens designed the Double Eagle with a flying eagle on one side and a figure representing liberty on the other.

Around 500,000 of the coins were struck in Philadelphia in 1933, but they were never released.

In 2002, one of the coins - once owned by King Farouk of Egypt - sold for $7.6m (£5.1m).

The US Department of the Treasury did not comment after the ruling on Friday.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/family-wins-back-80m-double-eagle-coins-124920180.html#T4T5gIy