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MORE ON THE SWITT FAMILY 1933 DOUBLE EAGLES DECISION
Reporters! Do your homework! Dan Demeo, Ken Berger, Joe Boling, Ginger Rapsus, Harold Levi, Bill Rosenblum and Harry Cabluck all noticed a glaring factual error in the story we quoted about the 1933 Double Eagle decision.
-Editor
The story stated: After President Theodore Roosevelt had the U.S. abandon the gold standard, most of the 445,500 double eagles that the Philadelphia Mint had struck were melted into gold bars. However, a Philadelphia Mint cashier had managed to give or sell some of them to a local coin dealer, Israel Switt. Joe Boling writes: We have the same issue here that I saw in the open press version of this story - they have Teddy Roosevelt taking us off gold. Ken Berger writes: Franklin Roosevelt, not Theodore Roosevelt, took the U.S. off the gold standard. To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: JUDGE DECLARES SWITT FAMILY 1933 DOUBLE EAGLES GOVERNMENT PROPERTY (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n38a07.html)
A more authoritative article is naturally found on the front page of Coin Workd. Here's an excerpt from the September 12, 2012 issue, an article by CW editor Steve Roach.
-Editor
Judge Legrome D. Davis has confirmed a jury’s 2011 decision that the Langbord family’s 10 1933 Saint-Gaudens $20 double eagles are the property of the government. On Aug. 29 in Philadelphia’s U.S. District Court, Judge Davis ruled in favor of the government, stating that the 10 1933 double eagles were not lawfully removed from the U.S. Mint and that as a matter of law they remain the property of the government regardless of how the coins came into the Langbord family’s possession. The civil trial took place in July 2011 where a jury unanimously found that the government proved its position that the 10 coins should be forfeited by the Langbord family. Barry H. Berke, the Langbords’ lead attorney, has stated that the family plans to appeal the decision. He said that the case raises many legal questions, “including the limits on the government’s power to confiscate property.” The coins have been kept at the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Ky., and the government has not yet made a statement about what it will do with the coins. Deputy U.S. Mint Director Richard A. Peterson has stated that the coins will not be melted. To read the complete article, see: Judge confirms jury decision on 1933 case (www.coinworld.com/articles/judge-confirms-jury-decision-on-1933-case/) THE BOOK BAZARREWayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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