This is the most valuable coin in the world – it could be worth almost $19 million!
In 2021, a Double Eagle sold for nearly $19 million, establishing itself as the most valuable coin in the world. Learn about its characteristics.
Millions of coins are exchanged for their face value every day. However, some are worth much more than their stated value due to unique characteristics that make them attractive to collectors. According to Smithsonian magazine, such is the case of the 1933 $20 coin, which was auctioned for $18.9 million in 2021. But why is it worth so much? We explain.
This is the 1933 Double Eagle
The $20 Double Eagle is distinguished by being one of the few gold coins still in existence.
On one side, the coin features a standing representation of Liberty, holding a torch in her left hand, an olive branch in her right, and 46 stars around her and the Capitol building in the lower left corner. It also bears the legends “LIBERTY” and “1933″.
Flip the coin around, and you will see an eagle flying above the rays of the sun beneath the legends “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “TWENTY DOLLARS” at the top and “IN GOD WE TRUST” at the bottom.
Why the 1933 Double Eagle can be worth up to $19 million?
According to numismatic experts, the exorbitant value of this coin is related to its survival in a historical period in which it should have disappeared.
In 1933, then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order banning private ownership of gold, forcing the country’s residents to surrender their gold coins and exchange them for other currencies, so by the end of the year double eagles were no longer in circulation.
However, a few pieces managed to escape being melted down. Today, only one of these units is permitted to be legally owned by an individual in the United States; while two more examples belong to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.