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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Conder101, post: 2122910, member: 66&quot;]One was, that was where the Smithsonian piece came from.&nbsp; Rather than turning it over to the mint for destruction they sent it to the Smithsonian.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>You&#039;re right.&nbsp; The way the law is written they can do just about anything they want to with respect to&nbsp; gold bullion coins.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This is a good point.&nbsp; The government says they never made them, so how are they government property?&nbsp; (Answer is they used government equipment which makes it conversion, using government property for private gain.)</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>But there are records of the eagles being released.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>By law no pattern made after 1896 is legal to own, but they are out there in the open marketplace, bought sold and listed at auction and the government doen&#039;t bat an eye.&nbsp; But legally they cold step in and confiscate them.</p><p><br /></p><p>Patterns made before 1896 are another matter.&nbsp; Many were sold by the government to collectors and of course a huge number were give to Woodin by the government for the quintuple eagle patterns.&nbsp; These could arguably be legal, but how do you prove the source?</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>No, the coinage act made all US coins legal tender, patterns are not coins.&nbsp; As far as I know the coinage act of 1965 did not address patterns at all.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Except they are not a legally authorized design/issue.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The Fed didn&#039;t exist until 1913.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>In the past they have confiscated patterns, and errors as well.&nbsp; At one time they took the position that anything that did not meet the standards and specifications laid down in the coinage act of 1873 was illegal and subject to confiscation, and they did confscate.&nbsp; Later they back off from that position.&nbsp; (The government has been very inconsistent with their enforcement.)[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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