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The famous 1933 Double Eagle gold pieces are among the most interesting rare gold coins in the world’s history. The story of these rare gold coins is fascinating, even if the odds of ever owning one in your collection are for all practical purposes, non-existent.

Double Eagle gold coins were first produced by the U.S. Mint in 1795, and they were issued in $10 denominations until 1850. They then became popularly known as Double Eagles.

In 1933, approximately 445,500 Double Eagles were minted. Production was stopped when President Franklin Roosevelt took the US off the gold standard to try to stimulate economic recovery from the Great Depression. All of the 1933 Double Eagles were melted down and destroyed, except for two that were given to the U.S. National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

Decades later, 1933 Double Eagles stolen from the US Mint at Philadelphia began to surface. The Secret Service became aware that a jeweler had come into possession of at least 19 Double Eagles. Clearly, a theft had occurred at the time of the original 1933 meltdown.

Nine of these coins sold by the jeweler were confiscated by the US Mint. One coin was issued and auctioned in New York City in 2002 following a legal settlement. This Double Eagle sold for more than $7.5 million.

Ten 1933 Double Eagles remain secured in the US Bullion Depository at Fort Knox and are considered by the US Mint to be historical artifacts that will not be monetized, issued or auctioned.