# Double Eagle owners have coins confiscated. Any chance of getting them back? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 26, 2005, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757 "2005-08-26T17:19:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/61 "2005-09-07T19:51:27Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > In what way does this contribute to answering my question about when/where someone said the “D” in FDR stood for “dictator?” Well, you have my apologies. I read the article, saw that the phrase was used and so I thought I would link it in. If it was inappropriate to the thread then by all means, delete the posting. Again, my sincere apologies for posting something that obviously had nothing to do with " Roosevelt as a Dictator". I clearly misunderstood. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/62 "2005-09-07T20:02:35Z")
> [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > Hot damn! Does that mean I’m free to mint counterfeit nickels? Nope. \*E.g., \* > [@](#): > > Whoever, within the United States, makes or brings therein from any foreign country, or possesses with intent to sell, give away, or in any other manner uses the same, except under authority of the Secretary of the Treasury or other proper officer of the United States, any token, disk, or device in the likeness or similitude as to design, color, or the inscription thereon of any of the coins of the United States or of any foreign country issued as money, either under the authority of the United States or under the authority of any foreign government shall be fined under this title. [http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc\_sec\_18\_00000489----000-.html](http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00000489----000-.html) Apparently people do it though. [http://varietynickels.com/articles/1944no-p.htm](http://varietynickels.com/articles/1944no-p.htm) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/63 "2005-09-07T22:45:11Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Well, you have my apologies. I read the article, saw that the phrase was used and so I thought I would link it in. If it was inappropriate to the thread then by all means, delete the posting. > > Again, my sincere apologies for posting something that obviously had nothing to do with " Roosevelt as a Dictator". I clearly misunderstood. > > Cartooniverse I wasn’t responding as a mod. I make it know if I am. And I wasn’t mad. I just wondered if I had missed a cite. ---
**Author:** ![Wearia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Wearia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wearia)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/64 "2005-09-08T00:21:42Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > I still think she was just dumb. A smarter move would have been to turn over _one_ of them, or maybe a few, but not all ten. > > On the other hand, maybe she has ten more in her safe deposit box. This is true. Her father admitting to selling 9 of them. 9 was a big number considering how few apparantly escaped, probably enough for the gov’t to figure that was all he had. Now we find out thats he had a whole 10 extra in his private collection (thats about $66 million). The daughter probably wasn’t ignorant to their value andt he fact that 10 being confiscated by the feds makes them all the rarer. She might just be looking to get people interesting in the coins again so she can sell her other 15 overseas. ---
**Author:** ![Library\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@Library\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Library_Boy)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/65 "2005-09-08T00:33:03Z")
Just as an aside, if anyone is interested in the story of the 1933 Double Eagle, the book [Illegal Tender](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743245741/qid=1126140017/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-0552700-6720822?v=glance&s=books) is a great read. It is a history book that reads like a mystery. ---
**Author:** ![Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chance_the_Gardener)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/66 "2005-09-08T10:02:35Z")
Another neat coin story is the one about how the Denver Mint struck [over 300,000 1964 silver dollars](http://www.pcgs.com/articles/article337.chtml) in 1965. None are said to exist today, but rumors abound. I’ve never seen one, myself, but I’d very much like to. (Of course, if I actually _had_ seen one, I wouldn’t admit it!) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/67 "2012-09-11T03:04:01Z")
A U.S. district court jury decided the coins are Uncle Sam’s; the trial judge has let that ruling stand: [http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/09/04/49923.htm](http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/09/04/49923.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/68 "2012-09-11T05:00:06Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > A U.S. district court jury decided the coins are Uncle Sam’s; the trial judge has let that ruling stand: > [http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/09/04/49923.htm](http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/09/04/49923.htm) When an SDSAB does it, that means it isn’t a zombie. (Ten quatloos to whoever gets the reference.) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/69 "2012-09-11T06:15:48Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > When an SDSAB does it, that means it isn’t a zombie. > > (Ten quatloos to whoever gets the reference.) Ten solid gold Double Eagle quatloos, to be exact. Which will be immediately confiscated by the secret agents of the SDSAB. Of course, everyone who reads SDMB knows and fears the SDSAB! And everyone knows that Elendil’s Heir is one of them (shudder)! ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/70 "2012-09-11T13:14:48Z")
> [@plnnr](#): > > Not if you don’t own the property, which is the government’s position in this case. The gov’t doesn’t have to compensate you for something that you stole. He’s talking about the original confiscation of gold in the 30s. ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/71 "2012-09-11T13:30:37Z")
If the government had brains and compassion, what it would do is auction these off and split the proceeds 50/50 with the family. Something to pay down the deficit after all. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/72 "2012-09-11T14:09:17Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > This is an example of why some people said the initial stood for “Dictator”. Funny you should say that. I’ve heard quite a number of things about FDR that make him sound rather, um, “heavy handed.” I was actually thinking of starting a thread in GD about whether he qualifies as a dictator, but this would probably break down along predictable party lines. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/73 "2012-09-11T14:40:15Z")
Why the hell did she give the gov’ment all the friggin coins? I would have taken those suckers to collectors in Europe and made a mint. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/74 "2012-09-11T14:45:34Z")
I think she wanted to verify that they were the real deal, and not some fakes–which, unfortunately for her, is exactly what happened. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/75 "2012-09-11T16:36:35Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > When an SDSAB does it, that means it isn’t a zombie. > > (Ten quatloos to whoever gets the reference.) Paraphrasing Nixon in his (in)famous interview with David Frost: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYdJqSG3K6c](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYdJqSG3K6c) And quatloos are the currency from the original _Star Trek_ episode “The Gamesters of Triskelion.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/76 "2012-09-11T16:49:06Z")
[nm ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/77 "2012-09-11T18:35:59Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > I think she wanted to verify that they were the real deal, and not some fakes–which, unfortunately for her, is exactly what happened. couldn’t she just had one of them checked? A couple? It’s unlikely that two random coins would be real but the rest fakes. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/78 "2012-09-11T22:37:35Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > If the government had brains and compassion, what it would do is auction these off and split the proceeds 50/50 with the family. Something to pay down the deficit after all. If you found original works by Shakespear in your grandmother’s attic, and you found out they were stolen in 1912 from the Library of Congress, would you suggest that the government sell them off and split the proceeds with you? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/79 "2012-09-12T00:48:24Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > If you found original works by Shakespear in your grandmother’s attic, and you found out they were stolen in 1912 from the Library of Congress, would you suggest that the government sell them off and split the proceeds with you? …if the government’s \*other \*plan was to burn the copies… ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757/80 "2012-09-12T00:56:37Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > If you found original works by Shakespear in your grandmother’s attic, and you found out they were stolen in 1912 from the Library of Congress, would you suggest that the government sell them off and split the proceeds with you? I’d talk to a lawyer and work out a way of keeping all the proceeds. But that may just be me, and my answer would be different if it were the British Library. I owe the US government nothing, if anything it owes me for the misery it causes me by the oppressive laws it promulgates world wide. The coin thing is completely different anyway because it’s to do with property seized under pathetic reasons, not stolen goods (at least in the moral sense - there hasn’t been a loss - except from those who had all their stuff nicked by uncy sam) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/double-eagle-owners-have-coins-confiscated-any-chance-of-getting-them-back/318757.md?page=5)