The World’s Most Expensive Gold Coin
to Visit Brussels
The world’s most expensive gold coin will go on display in Brussels this month. The 1933 Double Eagle $20 gold piece is a legend in coin collection circles, and is on show at the Belgian Royal Library on Friday and Saturday, March 9-10.
The coin is one of just two 1933 Double Eagles saved by the U.S. Mint and given to the Smithsonian Institution in 1933. Nearly half a million $20 gold coins were originally minted in 1933 in the midst of the Great Depression, but only 13 are known today. The rest were melted down before they ever left the United States Mint, as part of a strategy to remove the United States from the gold standard and stabilize the American economy.
This is the first time that a 1933 Double Eagle will be exhibited in Europe. The European tour that takes in seven countries is arranged by the Samlerhuset Group, a parent company of Het Belgische Munthuis/La Maison de la Monnaie Belge, with a very special loan provided by the Smithsonian Institution. This is the first time that the Smithsonian has sent an object from its numismatic collection on tour in Europe.
The 1933 Double Eagle will be displayed alongside a collection of other notable U.S. coins, including the 1907 high relief $20 gold coin; the Capped Bust $5 gold coin (1807-1812), and the $20 Liberty gold coin (1849-1866).
Event Details
Date: Friday, March 9 and Saturday, March 10
Time: Friday 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Place: Bibliothèque Royale de Belgique, Boulevard de l’Empereur 2, 1000 Brussels. Please enter the Royal Library by the Gutenberg entrance on Mont des Arts/Kunstberg
Price: Free
