1933 Double Eagle Gold Coin Ornament

The 1933 Double Eagle (United States 20-dollar gold coin) currently holds the record for the highest price paid at auction for a single U.S. coin. 445,500 specimens of this Double Eagle were minted in 1933, but no specimens ever officially circulated and nearly all were melted down, due to the discontinuance of the domestic gold standard in 1933. In 1944 King Farouk of Egypt purchased the 1933 Double Eagle. On July 30, 2002, the 1933 Double Eagle was sold to an anonymous bidder at a Sotheby's auction held in New York for $6.6 million, plus a 15-percent buyer's premium, and an additional $20 needed to “monetize” the face value of the coin so it would become legal currency, bringing the final sale price to $7,590,020.00.