Synopses & Reviews
In 1905, at the height of the exuberant Gilded Age, President Theodore Roosevelt commissioned America's greatest sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, to create what became America's most beautiful coin. In 1933, in the darkness of the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt assumed wartime powers and recalled all gold and banned its private ownership.
But the United States Mint continued, quite legally, to strike nearly a half million 1933 double eagles that were never issued and were deemed illegal to own. In 1937, along with countless millions of other gold coins, they were melted down into faceless gold bars and sent to Fort Knox. The government thought they had destroyed them all but they were wrong.
Illegal Tender, revealing information available for the first time, tells a tale of American history, liberally spiced with greed, intrigue, deception, and controversy as it follows the once secret odyssey of this fabulous golden object through the decades. With its cast of kings, presidents, government agents, shadowy dealers, and crooks, Illegal Tender will keep readers guessing about this incomparable disk of gold the coin that shouldn't be and almost wasn't until the very end.
Review
"A true-life thriller and, yes, there just might be more Double Eagles out there." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"This engaging record of an important numismatic saga has the suspense of a whodunit." Library Journal
Review
"Illegal Tender is an excellent read the first book I've ever read where the protagonist is a coin, the 1933 Double Eagle. It's a first-rate adventure story, and I was instantly hooked. Anyone who as a kid dug for treasure in his backyard will love this book. It made me want to get my metal detector out of the closet and go on a quest of my own." Ben Mezrich, author of Bringing Down the House
Review
"I was dazzled and mesmerized by this wonderful and exciting story. The oddballs and villains who populate the world of numismatics King Farouk most notably among them are matched only for interest by the thin-lipped zealots who, for decades, have tried to track down the missing gold coins that lie at the heart of this extraordinary tale. David Tripp has added vaults full of absorbing details, and in living color, to the ancient notion that the love of money or coin is the root of all evil." Simon Winchester
Synopsis
It is one of America's treasures -- the most valuable ounce of gold in the world, the celebrated, the fabled, the infamous 1933 double eagle. It shouldn't even exist but it does, and its astonishing, true adventures read like "a composite of
The Lord of the Rings and
The Maltese Falcon" (
The New York Times). Illegal to own and coveted all the more, it has been sought with passion by men of wealth and with steely persistence by the United States government for more than a half century.
In 1905, at the height of the exuberant Gilded Age, President Theodore Roosevelt commissioned America's greatest sculptor, Augustus Saint- Gaudens -- as he battled in vain for his life -- to create what became America's most beautiful coin.
About the Author
andlt;Bandgt;David Trippandlt;/Bandgt; is a numismatic and fine art consultant, writer, and cartoonist. He has degrees in classical archaeology, was an actor, photographer, and formerly the director of Sotheby's coin, tapestry, and musical instrument departments. He is married and lives in Columbia County, New York.
Table of Contents
andlt;Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;CONTENTSandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Prologueandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;Part I: Life and Deathandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 1andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Artist, the President, and the S.O.A.B.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 2andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Swift and Staccato Action: The Great Depressionandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 3andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Gold Rush in Reverseandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 4andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Just a Factory: Making Moneyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 5andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Great Melt and the Great Escapeandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;Part II: On the Lawandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 6andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;A Double Eagle Flies to Cairoandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 7andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;A Routine Inquiryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 8andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Assistance, Resistance, and Stalemateandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 9andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Crooked Cashierandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 10andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Working the Listandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 11andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Wondering about Woodinandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 12andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Red-Headed Philadelphia Sucker and the Deaconandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 13andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Grounds for Recoveryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 14andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;A Clumsy Liarandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 15andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Seizures, Suits, and Surrenderandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 16andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;A Modern Day Aladdin's Cave: The Coin Escapes Againandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;Part III: Legitimacyandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 17andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;A Double Eagle Reappearsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 18andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The Homecoming Dealandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 19andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Put 'Em Upandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 20andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;In Remandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter 21andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Auction and Absolute Anonymityandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Epilogueandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;The 1933 Yetiandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Author's Noteandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Abbreviationsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Notesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Selected Bibliographyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Acknowledgmentsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Index