[Mb-civic] ask for help get the gvmt in action

[IHHS at aol.com]

    Feds seize $10M in coins, owner to  sue
After a  family asks U.S. Mint to authenticate 10 old coins, gov't grabs 
them.  Potential value: $10M.
August 27, 2005:  4:26 PM EDT  
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Philadelphia antiques dealer plans to sue  the 
U.S. Mint to recover rare gold coins worth millions of dollars that  the federal 
government has seized because it says they were illegally  obtained.  
Ten "Double Eagle" $20 coins minted in 1933 were discovered in  September in 
a Philadelphia antiques and jewelry store and voluntarily  handed by its 
owners, the Langbord family, to the Mint for authentication.   
In June, the Mint confirmed they were the coveted Double Eagles but  informed 
the Langbords that the coins were being sent for safe-keeping to  the U.S. 
Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky, because the family had  no right to 
them.      

The coins have grail-like status for coin collectors. Only about 25 out  of 
445,500 are known to have survived destruction after the United States  
abandoned the gold standard in 1933 and ordered them melted down. Two of  the coins 
were given to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington for  display.  
A few more survived, and the 10 recently discovered were obtained in  1937 by 
Israel Switt, an antiques dealer and ancestor of the Langbord  family, in 
whose store the coins were found. Switt died in the 1980s.  
Mint officials believe Switt got at least 20 of the coins from a  cashier at 
the Philadelphia Mint who was later convicted of a crime  relating to his work 
there.  
One of Switt's coins is believed to have found its way to the former  King 
Farouk of Egypt, and was auctioned to an anonymous buyer in 2002 for  $7.59 
million, the largest sum ever paid for a coin. In that case, the  government 
retained title to the coin but agreed to split the proceeds  because of a dispute 
over evidence, a Mint official said.  
Barry Berke, a New York lawyer for the Langbord family, argues the Mint  
cannot prove the coins were illegally obtained and should return them to  the 
family.  
"We anticipate bringing litigation," he said on Thursday. "We do not  think 
there is any basis in fact or law for the government's conduct." He  said he 
would likely file suit in the next couple of months.  
A Mint official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said no  such 
proof is needed because the coins were never issued and so always  remained 
government property.  
Mint officials say they will fight any lawsuit, and if they succeed the  
Double Eagles will be shown in museums.  
"We believe there is an important principle at stake," the official  said. 
"Someone should not be able to profit from the possession of stolen  property."  
Beth Deisher, editor of Coin World, estimated the Double Eagle coins  could 
be worth around $1 million each. The coin sold in 2002 fetched a  much higher 
price because of its history and because it was believed to be  the only one in 
circulation.  
Although 10 have come to light, "They are very special and in a class  by 
themselves," she said.  
Other extremely rare coins include the 1913 Liberty Nickel, one of  which 
sold for $4.15 million last month, and the 1804 dollar, of which  only 15 are 
known to exist.   
(http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/27/pf/gold_coins.reut/index.htm#TOP)  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/attachments/20050905/d0c43cd9/attachment-0001.htm