Langbord case: What are those 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagles worth?

I don't think the billionaire who bought it -- and loaned it to the NY Fed -- really cares if the coin goes up or down in value.

 

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The coins will not be melted down, they are worth alot of $$$ to the Mint for publicity for Gold Eagle sales.

They will settle with the Langbord's.

 

That last is not all that certain. These coins were smuggled. A ten-day jury found that, once, and another will find it, again, if it gets to that. The Mint can't reward smugglers. That's what militates against a settlement. But the Mint is a coin dealer. And that 99.99% I mentioned thinking the Landbord's are getting a raw deal from them is their customers. And the Mint sticks in the courts of law, they're going to win it all, but they're a loser in the court of public opinion, a loser in the eyes of that 99.99% of their customers that doesn't understand the first thing about how the law works, and likely never will. They got justice, if they want it. But, at what price? That, in a nutshell, is where they're at.

 

Not the money value but the pride value.

 

And when do they care what court of public opinion think or say

 

Golly, how many times do I have to say it, they're in business, John. Of course public relations matters to them.

 

In this case not so much and yes there in the business and they still do what they want no matter what public opinion is
The PR is just to make you think they care

 

Ah, you may be right, that's why I'm not certain they'll settle. I'm leaning on they'll settle, but we'll see.

 

Not that much, after all they are a monopoly, nobody else is making and selling new issues of US coins. That said they do eventually listen to their customers. It only took 15 years or so of complaints about their website ordering system before they finally upgraded it.

 

I don't know that they said that. They said they belonged to the U.S. Government.

There is NO WAY anybody can prove they were smuggled -- or not -- unless there is hidden videotape of the coins leaving the Mint.

Again...the evidence is that they were EXCHANGED. Big difference !!!

 

In this case I don't think exchanged is a winning answer. If the government says that the coins were not issued, no one can possess them legally without their authorization. Remember, one was sold. I think if it goes back to the jury they'll come up with the same answer: the coins belong to the government. I really would like to know why the government has been going after these coins since the 1940s. If you look at the 1913 nickel and the King of Siam set, they never bothered with those.

This is what I think the government should do: give the Langbord's 1 coin, 1 for their lawyers and melt the rest. Everyone should be happy then. This is something that the regular coin collectors will never obtain.

 

You're wrong. The jury found they were "unlawfully smuggled." Read the Third Circuit Opinion. You speak of "evidence." What evidence did you see, compared to what the jurors saw? The jurors saw the best the Landbord's, their expert witnesses, and their attorneys had. But, like I said, you want to rehash, have at it. You'll find the audience for it, there's no question about that.

 

I think he knows he's wrong.

 

Wrong !!!

The exchange policy was SOP and was in use for years before 1933.

Because these are gold coins and the April 1933 gold edict by FDR.

Destroy 8 coins worth tens of millions of dollars ?

Split all 10 coins...sell a few.....put the rest on tour.

 

Show me the proof that the coins were smuggled. The jurors made an educated guess. They were probably wrong. Do you think OJ didn't slit Goldman's and Nicole's throats because the jurors said they couldn't prove it ?

I am very familiar with Mint exchange practices of the 1920's and 1930's. I have read Roger Burdette's well-documented proof that exchanges took place.

For whatever reason, the jurors ignored that evidence or didn't believe it. Again, this practice didn't start in 1933. It went on for over a decade.

The standard practice was for wealthy collectors to pay $30-$40 for a $20 Double Eagle a few weeks/months before the official release.

That's a fact. It doesn't prove that th 1933's weren't illegally taken -- but it makes it LIKELY that the coins likely were gotten LEGALLY.

 

Not only am I likely NOT wrong, I'm probably right.

You and Eddie keep ignoring the unofficial exchange policy which is how coins got out BEFORE official releases.

Answer 1 question: If those exchanges took place from 1920-1932, do you think it likely happened in 1933 when there were rumours of FDR banning gold ownership ?

 

I do not disagree with you that these collectors had a go-to guy in the mint, the bank, or wherever it was to get the new coins. Even you just said the unofficial exchange policy. This case can go to court a hundred times and the jury will look at the official evidence, not the unofficial evidence or how people played the system to get the new coins. They weren't supposed to come out, plain and simple. Is it fair? I guess not, the jury said no. I even got a better idea: the government, to keep everyone happy, should reissue the damn 1933 DE coin. This way every collector can have one.

 

John, the exchange policy was NOT illegal and was understood. It was not only for Mint employees and favored customers, it was available to tour groups visiting the Mint.

The Mint didn't care about 'early releases' as long as the books balanced.

 

But now they care with this one

 

Because it's a 1933 and because it was a few days/weeks before FDR's gold edict.