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Comment by delinka | Hacker News Reader

I still don't understand why the U.S. government should care. If they were being circulated as currency, it would make sense. But the metal in the coins is worth many many times their face value. It'd be ludicrous for a holder of a double eagle coin to spend it as $20.

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Basically, all Double Eagles not in the government's possession are stolen property.

There are at least 1 legally owned by a private person according to the wikipedia article.

Nice insurance. Everyone else that say they have that coin gets zonked by the USA.

Not all of them. A 1933 Double Eagle coin was legally auctioned, and an additional $20 was needed to “monetize” the face value of the coin so it would become legal currency.

I believe the government's position is that one coin was also stolen property, which they then dealt with in a special way, given the circumstances.

More importantly, the government believes the 10 coins the article is really about were stolen by the family who currently is trying to get them back. A huge difference to the original case of the single coin.

It's a cops and principle thing. It's "because I said so" authoritarianism of the highest order. Rationally, they shouldn't care at all, but available evidence strongly suggests that the business of drafting, passing, and enforcing laws has very little to do with rationality.

They care because the coins were never issued. They were stolen. Even when a 1933 Double Eagle coin was legally auctioned, an additional $20 was needed to “monetize” the face value of the coin so it would become legal currency.

If you make it to page 5, there's a note that these coins might have been issued by the Mint, officially but not legally. There's a brief window of time after FDR's gold recall order that tellers at the Mint were trading gold coins for the recalled bullion. It is entirely conceivable that some 1933 double eagles might have been issued as change.

If it's true that they were stolen, then we're beyond the statute of limitations for obtaining criminal justice. Now we're back to the feds attempting to recover the property of Uncle Sam and it's a pittance of gold. No longer worth the effort.

Edit: I think I fat fingered the wrong reply link. It's not worth it to move the comment.

IANAL but I would assume the Government's argument would be that the crime is ongoing and that after becoming aware of the coins they made efforts to recover the property.

It is a pittance of gold but thats not the point. The Mint believes these coins were misappropriated and it's their duty to secure the money supply. If I were the Government I would offer $20 per coin, as thats the face value of the coins. Although that might not be possible if that technically monetizes them into legal tender.

There is no crime here, even if the coins were originally stolen. Use your head, exactly as the government is not doing.

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