1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle: The $18.9 Million Record
Coin Encyclopedia · 10 min read · Published November 7, 2026
Eighteen million, eight hundred and seventy-two thousand, two hundred and fifty dollars. That is what the 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagle realized at Sotheby's in June 2021 — $18,872,250, the most valuable coin ever realized at auction. The coin is a Saint-Gaudens double eagle, designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, struck at Philadelphia in 1933, in a mintage of 445,500, and never released. Nearly all of them were melted. A single example is legal to own privately. If someone offers you one, read this whole page before you do anything else, because there is only one, and it is not the coin in front of you.
This page is about that coin. The 1933 double eagle is the most famous coin in American history, struck in the year gold stopped circulating, melted in the year after, and preserved in a single legal example that has twice set the world record for a coin at auction. Our guide has not researched grade-by-grade figures for this date, so the table below is empty. The records are not.
1933: the year gold stopped circulating
In April 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102, recalling gold coinage from circulation. Americans were ordered to turn in their gold coins, and the Mint stopped releasing new ones. The 1933 double eagles had already been struck — 445,500 of them — but they never left the vault. When the Gold Reserve Act followed in 1934, the government melted its gold coinage stocks, and the 1933 double eagles went into the furnaces with them.
That is why the mintage figure is misleading. On paper, 445,500 is a large number — larger than many ordinary dates in the series. In reality, the number that reached collectors is one. A single example is legal to own privately: the Farouk specimen, named for King Farouk of Egypt, to whom it was exported in 1944. Every other 1933 double eagle is government property, and the government has spent decades recovering the ones that slipped out.
That position is what makes the coin what it is. It is not a coin in the ordinary sense. It is a piece of history that happens to be shaped like a coin, and the only one of its kind that the law allows a collector to own. The market values it that way, and the records below are the evidence.
The grade table, still to be researched
The table below is our researched collector estimates from the live guide, reviewed November 5, 2026. Grades our guide has not researched yet are shown as “—”, not guessed. For this date, that is every grade. No grade-by-grade figures are catalogued yet, so the table below is a statement of what we do not yet know, not a set of numbers to lean on.
| Grade | Estimated value |
|---|---|
| Good (G-4) | — |
| Fine (F-12) | — |
| Extremely Fine (XF-40) | — |
| About Uncirculated (AU-50) | — |
| Mint State 60 (MS-60) | — |
| Mint State 65 (MS-65) | — |
An empty table on the most valuable coin in history can feel wrong, and it is worth saying why it is there. The grade table is built from researched figures, and a coin with a single legal example does not produce grade-by-grade figures in the ordinary way. There is one coin, in one grade, and its figure is the record below. That is the honest figure for this coin, and it is the only figure that matters.
Two records, one coin
Two verified auction results anchor this coin's market in our records, and both are the same coin. In July 2002, the Farouk specimen appeared at auction at Sotheby's and Stack's, and it realized $7,590,020 — itself a world record at the time. In June 2021, the same coin appeared at Sotheby's again, and it realized $18,872,250 — the most valuable coin ever realized at auction, and a record that still stands.
| Coin | Grade | Auction | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle | MS65 | Sotheby's, Jun 2021 | $18,872,250 |
| 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle | MS65 | Sotheby's & Stack's, Jul 2002 | $7,590,020 |
Read those records carefully. They are the same coin, graded MS65, appearing twice, nineteen years apart, and the figure more than doubled — from $7,590,020 to $18,872,250. That tells you everything about this coin: the figure is set by the coin's position in history, not by its grade, and the position only grows more important with time. The 1933 double eagle is the most valuable coin in the world because it is the only one of its kind that the law allows a collector to own, and because it marks the exact moment the United States walked away from gold money.
The Farouk specimen, and the law
The Farouk specimen is the single 1933 double eagle that is legal to own privately. It was exported to King Farouk of Egypt in 1944, under an export licence, and it is the only example the government has recognised as legally held. Every other 1933 double eagle is government property, and the government has recovered the ones that slipped out — most famously in 2002, when a family that had held ten of them surrendered them after a long legal battle, and the coins were melted or held as evidence.
That is the warning this page exists to give. If someone offers you a 1933 double eagle, it is not genuine, or it is not legal to own, or both. The only genuine example that can be owned is the Farouk specimen, and it trades through established channels, with full documentation, at figures that reflect its position. There is no bargain to be found here, and no second example waiting to be discovered. There is one coin, and it is already known.
Specs and the metal floor
The 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagle weighs 33.436 grams and measures 34 millimetres across, struck in 90% gold and 10% copper. It holds 0.9675 troy ounces of pure gold — nearly a full ounce, the largest gold content of any regular United States coin. The specification is the same for every Saint-Gaudens double eagle from 1907 to 1933. If you have handled any $20 gold coin, the 1933 feels identical in the hand: heavy, broad, and unmistakably gold.
Metal floor: — The live melt figure on this site is calculated only for the $1 gold dollar, whose specification the Worker carries. Larger gold — $2.50, $5, $10 and $20 — has no live melt specification yet, so this page shows “—” for the metal floor rather than a computed figure. The weight above is the honest check: a genuine coin matches it, and a light coin is not genuine.
Weigh it first. A genuine double eagle is 33.436 grams, and a counterfeit in base metal will be far too light. Then measure it: 34 millimetres, with a lettered edge reading E PLURIBUS UNUM that is sharp and even all the way round. Then look at the design under a loupe — Saint-Gaudens' Liberty has crisp drapery and a clean torch, the eagle's feathers are sharp, and the date 1933 is clean and even. A cast copy looks soft, with mushy details and tiny bubbles in the fields. On a coin with a single legal example, those three checks are the beginning, not the end: the only genuine example is already known, and it is not the coin in front of you.
Why the 1933 is the most valuable coin in the world
The 1933 double eagle is the most valuable coin in the world because it is the only one of its kind that the law allows a collector to own, and because it marks the exact moment the United States walked away from gold money. It is a Saint-Gaudens double eagle, the most beautiful coin America ever struck, in the final year of its series, struck but never released, melted but for a single example, and preserved through a legal anomaly that will never be repeated.
That is the demand. There is no set to complete, and no series to finish. There is one coin, and one collector who will own it at a time, and the figure is set by the position, not by the grade. The records above are the evidence. The empty grade table is the honesty. And the warning above is the point of the page: if someone offers you a 1933 double eagle, walk away, because the only one is already known, and it is not the coin in front of you.
Latest reported results for this coin
Checking for newly reported results…
Your 1933 double eagle questions, answered
What is a 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagle worth?
Our guide has not researched grade-by-grade figures for this date, so the grade table below shows — for every grade. The verified record is $18,872,250 for the Farouk specimen at Sotheby's in June 2021 — the most valuable coin ever realized at auction.
Why is the 1933 double eagle restricted?
The 1933 double eagle was struck but never released, after President Roosevelt recalled gold coinage under Executive Order 6102. Nearly all 445,500 were melted, and a single example is legal to own privately — the Farouk specimen.
How many 1933 double eagles were struck?
445,500 were struck at Philadelphia. That is the mintage recorded in our catalog. Because they were never released, the number struck tells you almost nothing about how many survive.
What is the Farouk specimen?
The Farouk specimen is the single 1933 double eagle that is legal to own privately. It realized $18,872,250 at Sotheby's in June 2021, and before that at Sotheby's and Stack's in July 2002 for $7,590,020 — itself a world record at the time.
How do I know a 1933 double eagle is genuine?
You do not — not on your own. On a coin with a single legal example, any 1933 double eagle offered to you is not genuine, or not legal to own. The only genuine example is the Farouk specimen, and it trades through established channels with full documentation.
Check your 1933
A 1933 double eagle is 445,500 struck, one legal example, and the most valuable coin in the world. Weigh it, read the date, and walk away from any other. Run the date and mint mark through the free Coin Value Checker for an instant estimate, or get a Grade-or-Not verdict on whether your coin is worth certifying. The full gold guide is here: Gold Dollar Coin Values by Type and Date.
For learning only: this guide is educational, and the figures here are researched estimates, not a promise of what any single coin will bring. A 1933 double eagle should be authenticated and graded by professionals before any decision is made.
This guide is for education — learn the coin first, and get a professional opinion before buying or selling.