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Illegal Tender: Gold, Greed, and the Mystery of the Lost 1933 Double Eagle: New
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Located in: Sparks, Nevada, United States
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Estimated between Wed, 26 Jun and Mon, 1 Jul to 43230
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eBay item number:364118521777
Item specifics
- Book Title
- Illegal Tender: Gold, Greed, and the Mystery of the Lost 1933 Dou
- Format
- Trade paperback
- Publication Date
- 2013-11-02
- Publication Year
- 2013
- Pages
- 384
- ISBN
- 9780743274357
- Language
- English
- Illustrator
- Yes
- Publisher
- Atria Books
- Topic
- United States / 20th Century, Silver, Gold & Other Metals, General, Coins, Currency & Medals, United States / General, Antiques & Collectibles, History
About this product
Product Information
It is one of America's treasures. The most valuable ounce of gold in the world, the celebrated, the fabled, the infamous 1933 double eagle, illegal to own and coveted all the more, it has been sought with passion by men of wealth and with steely persistence by the United States government for more than a half century--it shouldn't even exist but it does, and its astonishing, true adventures read like "a composite of The Lord of the Rings and The Maltese Falcon" ( The New York Times ). In 1905, at the height of the exuberant Gilded Age, President Theodore Roosevelt commissioned America's greatest sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens--as he battled in vain for his life--to create what became America's most beautiful coin. In 1933 the hopes of America dimmed in the darkness of the Great Depression, and gold--the nation's lifeblood--hemorrhaged from the financial system. As the economy teetered on the brink of total collapse, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his first act as president, assumed wartime powers while the nation was at peace and in a "swift, staccato action" unprecedented in United States history recalled all gold and banned its private ownership. But the United States Mint continued, quite legally, to strike nearly a half million 1933 double eagles that were never issued and were deemed illegal to own. In 1937, along with countless millions of other gold coins, they were melted down into faceless gold bars and sent to Fort Knox. The government thought they had destroyed them all--but they were wrong. A few escaped, purloined in a crime--an inside job--that wasn't discovered until 1944. Then, the fugitive 1933 double eagles became the focus of a relentless Secret Service investigation spearheaded by the man who had put away Al Capone. All the coins that could be found were seized and destroyed. But one was beyond their reach, in a king's collection in Egypt, where it survived a world war, a revolution, and a coup, only to be lost again. In 1996, more than forty years later, in a dramatic sting operation set up by a Secret Service informant at the Waldorf-Astoria, an English and an American coin dealer were arrested with a 1933 double eagle which, after years of litigation, was sold in July 2002 to an anonymous buyer for more than $7.5 million in a record-shattering auction. But was it the only one? The lost one? Illegal Tender, revealing information available for the first time, tells a riveting tale of American history, liberally spiced with greed, intrigue, deception, and controversy as it follows the once secret odyssey of this fabulous golden object through the decades. With its cast of kings, presidents, government agents, shadowy dealers, and crooks, Illegal Tender will keep readers guessing about this incomparable disk of gold--the coin that shouldn't be and almost wasn't--until the very end.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Atria Books
ISBN-10
0743274350
ISBN-13
9780743274357
eBay Product ID (ePID)
171875570
Product Key Features
Language
English
Topic
United States / 20th Century, Silver, Gold & Other Metals, General, Coins, Currency & Medals, United States / General, Antiques & Collectibles, History
Illustrator
Yes
Dimensions
Item Height
1.1in
Item Length
8in
Item Weight
12.2 Oz
Item Width
5in
Additional Product Features
Publication Year
2013
Dewey Edition
22
Format
Trade Paperback
Book Title
Illegal Tender : Gold, Greed, and the Mystery of the Lost 1933 Double Eagle
Target Audience
Trade
Dewey Decimal
737.4973
Table of Content
CONTENTS Prologue Part I: Life and Death Chapter 1 The Artist, the President, and the S.O.A.B. Chapter 2 Swift and Staccato Action: The Great Depression Chapter 3 Gold Rush in Reverse Chapter 4 Just a Factory: Making Money Chapter 5 The Great Melt and the Great Escape Part II: On the Law Chapter 6 A Double Eagle Flies to Cairo Chapter 7 A Routine Inquiry Chapter 8 Assistance, Resistance, and Stalemate Chapter 9 The Crooked Cashier Chapter 10 Working the List Chapter 11 Wondering about Woodin Chapter 12 The Red-Headed Philadelphia Sucker and the Deacon Chapter 13 Grounds for Recovery Chapter 14 A Clumsy Liar Chapter 15 Seizures, Suits, and Surrender Chapter 16 A Modern Day Aladdin's Cave: The Coin Escapes Again Part III: Legitimacy Chapter 17 A Double Eagle Reappears Chapter 18 The Homecoming Deal Chapter 19 Put 'Em Up Chapter 20 In Rem Chapter 21 Auction and Absolute Anonymity Epilogue The 1933 Yeti Author's Note Abbreviations Notes Selected Bibliography Acknowledgments Index
Number of Pages
384 Pages
Item description from the seller
Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.
eBay item number:364118521777
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Item location:
Sparks, Nevada, United States
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| Postage and handling | To | Service | Delivery*See Delivery notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free postage | United States | Standard Shipping | Estimated between Wed, 26 Jun and Mon, 1 Jul to 43230 |
| US $5.50 (approx PHP 323.55) | United States | Expedited Shipping | Estimated between Thu, 27 Jun and Tue, 2 Jul to 43230 |
| Handling time |
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| Will usually post within 2 business days of receiving cleared payment. |
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Return policy
| After receiving the item, contact seller within | Refund will be given as |
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| 30 days | Money Back |
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Seller feedback (463,170)
y***y (6054)- Feedback left by buyer.
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Great item for a good price. Fast shipment. Thanks
n***e (760)- Feedback left by buyer.
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Great seller, highly recommended!
6***b (533)- Feedback left by buyer.
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So glad to finally land a copy of this book—on that most obscure of Fur Trader/Explorers Peter Pond!
Book was in like new condition and shipped fast! Would biy from this seller again.