Hand It Over !! U.S. Coins That Could Be Deemed Illegal To Own

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by GoldFinger1969, Apr 6, 2020.

  1. GoldFinger1969

    GoldFinger1969 Well-Known Member

    Doing a bunch of related research of late I thought a thread on this would be interesting. Wanted to know all the coins that may have illegally "snuck out" of the U.S. Mint or whatever and are at threat of being repossessed by the government.

    Of course, the most famous is the 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, with the Switt-Langbord Ten being taken back by the government. And somebody voluntarily just turned one in a few years ago. :mad:

    Right behind, I'll put the 1933 $10 Eagle because technically only 4 or 5 were legally released and the only reason the whole batch isn't stealable is because the government can't ID which left legally and which didn't. Talk about a dumb/weak argument.

    Post your coin, pattern, or whatever that could be stolen back by the U.S. government if not for the stink it would probably raise.
     
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  3. Santinidollar

    Santinidollar Supporter! Supporter

    I’ve always thought the government could lay claim to the handful of 1913 Liberty nickels created without authorization.
     
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  4. Santinidollar

    Santinidollar Supporter! Supporter

    PCGS says 30 to 35 1933 $10 golds are out there and their legality has never been questioned.
     
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  5. GoldFinger1969

    GoldFinger1969 Well-Known Member

    Yup, because of that reason I cited: 4 or 5 left "legally" via the cashier and it was recorded at the Philly Mint. But 80% of them are NOT recorded. Hence, they all get to be kept because the Mint can't tell which ones are legal and which left "illegally."

    In other words....if 1 1933 DE was registered as OK, the entire lot would be legal since they wouldn't be able to tell which was which. :wideyed:
     
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  6. GoldFinger1969

    GoldFinger1969 Well-Known Member

    Yup, another one I came across...I think an Asst. Treasury official said decades ago that the government could justify seizing them !! :wideyed:
     
  7. baseball21

    baseball21 Well-Known Member

    They've sold to many times for to many years and been far to public. Almost all the successful claw backs have been long standing or initial sale
     
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  8. thomas mozzillo

    thomas mozzillo Well-Known Member

    The 1964 Peace dollar and the 1974 Aluminum cent were minted but supposedly all were destroyed. Who knows how many escaped the melting pot. A 1974 D Aluminum cent was returned to the US Gov't. a few years ago. Any more out there?
     
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  9. Santinidollar

    Santinidollar Supporter! Supporter

    If you have one or both, you best let it be your little secret.
     
  10. Paul M.

    Paul M. Well-Known Member

    Almost all patterns struck after 1916 or so. 19th century patterns are totally legal, because the Mint actually did sell many of them directly to collectors. But, later, they stopped doing that.
     
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  11. GoldFinger1969

    GoldFinger1969 Well-Known Member

    So the 1907 Ultra High Relief "patterns" are OK ?

    It's funny, those aren't considered government property like the 1933 DE's and there's no record of them being given out.

    Oh right....they went to political bigwigs. Possession is 10/10ths of the law !! :D
     
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  12. furryfrog02

    furryfrog02 Well-Known Member

  13. cdubs5000

    cdubs5000 Active Member

    20200407_092742.jpg 20200407_092716.jpg Screenshot_20200407-092654_Gallery.jpg
    Norfed Copper Bullion Rounds. Found a stack of 11 at an obscure trading post in Georgia.
     
  14. Dougmeister

    Dougmeister Well-Known Member

    Cool, but (correct me if I'm wrong), those are not U.S. "coins" as they were made by a private individual?
     
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  15. cdubs5000

    cdubs5000 Active Member

    Correct, they were not made by US Mint, hence the "illegal" status. But nonetheless still made in US and bears "USA" on the reverse.
     
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2020
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  16. OCPadrino

    OCPadrino New Member

    Great! Now I have to get a tattoo removed.
     
  17. Packrat

    Packrat Well-Known Member

     
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  18. GoldFinger1969

    GoldFinger1969 Well-Known Member

    Right, the Farouk Saint, which the government intends to be the only one legal to possess. Because of the Export License, it is considered separate from a coin that escaped the Mint through normal procedures or back channels.
     
  19. cdubs5000

    cdubs5000 Active Member

    :joyful::joyful:
     
  20. baseball21

    baseball21 Well-Known Member

    The Norfeds aren't illegal own, but that's a completely different category

    Realistically anything that has been publicly sold (especially multiple times) should be fine. The aluminum cent was "fine" to own until they tried to sell it. There's really very little consistency with how things are treated. If you use some of the logic that's been used on some of them then errors should be illegal as the mint never intended to make them.
     
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  21. Nyatii

    Nyatii I like running w/scissors. Makes me feel dangerous

    About 8 years ago I was visiting with an old lady that owned a trucking company. I don't remember how we got on the subject, however, she told me about a strange aluminum cent she had. She said she had tried to look it up and thought it might be illegal to own. Try as I might I couldn't get her to show it to me as she was scared she might get into trouble. Seemed very sincere though.
     
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