The 1933 Double Eagle is the famous United States gold coin whose surviving examples became exceptionally rare.
The Philadelphia Mint produced 445,500 Double Eagles dated 1933, but the coins were never officially released into general circulation. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1933 measures ended domestic gold convertibility, and most of the coins were ordered melted into gold bars.
A small number left the Mint without authorization. One example was later recovered and monetized by the United States government for a 2002 auction, where it sold for $7.59 million. Another example is held by the National Numismatic Collection and is not privately owned.
The 1933 Double Eagle is often confused with the 1804 dollar, another famous rarity. The Double Eagle was a $20 gold coin designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Its legal history is as important as its scarcity: unauthorized examples have been subject to seizure and litigation.