Art News

Jury: United States Government Rightfully Seized 1933 Gold Coins

PHILADELPHIA (AP).- The U.S. government rightfully seized a set of never-circulated 1933 gold coins from a Philadelphia woman who said she found the rare beauties in her late father’s bank deposit box, a jury found Wednesday. The verdict capped an unusual civil case that combined history, coin collecting and whether the $20 “double eagles” ever legally left the U.S. Mint. A single one sold for a record $7.59 million in 2002. Prosecutors argued that the cherished coins never circulated when the country went off the gold standard — and were therefore stolen, with help from the woman’s father, jeweler Israel Switt. “This is government property that was stolen … 70 years ago,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero said after the verdict. “It doesn’t belong to someone that has a hand in stealing it.” The coins, designed by famed sculptor August Saint-Gaudens, are among the rarest in the world, and the most sought after by