Gold Coins: The Mystery of the Double Eagle
by Susan Berfield
Friday, August 26, 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?

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.

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http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/113398/double-eagle-gold-coins-mystery-businessweek