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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Famous Golden 'Double-Eagles' in a Safe Deposit Box

    When Franklin Roosevelt took the US off the gold standard in 1933, almost a half-million $20 gold pieces were melted down. Only one of the missing coins has ever been sold publicly — for $7.6 million in 2002. Now ten more have turned up.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    When Franklin Roosevelt took the US off the gold standard in 1933, almost a half-million $20 gold pieces were melted down. Only one of the missing coins has ever been sold publicly — for $7.6 million in 2002. Now ten more have turned up. A federal judge has ordered that the Treasury Department must prove that these "double eagles" were stolen from the US Mint some time in the 1930's by a Philadelphia jeweler named Israel Switt. If it can't make the case, the judge says they'll have to be given back to Switt's grandson, Roy Langbord. That's reported by John Schwartz in today's New York Times.

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    One Year after the Wall Street Meltdown
    1. 0:00Baucus Releases Long-Awaited Healthcare Bill
    2. 7:37One Year after the Wall Street Meltdown
    3. 44:22Famous Golden 'Double-Eagles' in a Safe Deposit BoxYou’re reading this
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • Sonya Geis with wavy brown hair wearing a black dress with red accents and decorative earrings against a white background.

      Sonya Geis

      Senior Managing Editor

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      Katie Cooper

      Producer, 'One year Later'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Christian Bordal

      Managing Producer, Greater LA

    • KCRW placeholder

      John Schwartz

      New York Times

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    3 of 3
    One Year after the Wall Street Meltdown
    1. 0:00Baucus Releases Long-Awaited Healthcare Bill
    2. 7:37One Year after the Wall Street Meltdown
    3. 44:22Famous Golden 'Double-Eagles' in a Safe Deposit BoxYou’re reading this
    Back to To the Point