While at the library this weekend, I found a book nestled in with the old copies of the Red Book: Double Eagle: The Epic Story of the World's Most Valuable Coin Though I typically am not a huge fan of history books, I couldn't help but pick it up and check it out. So far I'm about 100 pages into the book and have really enjoyed it so far. Frankel spends the first few chapters giving a high-level overview of the history of coinage as an art-form and means to document an empire's history. She then delves into the history behind the Saint Gaudens Double Eagle itself... the design, the sculptor and the political drama. The most interesting part here being the fact Saint Gaudens did not survive to see his coin minted. Quickly Double Eagle then delves into the lore behind how the 1933 Double Eagle's became so scarce and theorizes on how the coin never release for circulation found its way into hands of numerous numismatists in the late 30's. Currently I'm following the last known-fabled '33 in Egypt! All in all a great history book that reads almost like a thriller at times. All the while Frankel has some interesting historical tangents, along with some brief forray's into the psyche of collectors (that part made me chuckle). Anyhow, a great read for anyone in the hobby.
