Issue No. 598
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8 - 14 August 2002 Issue No. 598 Heritage |
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Farouk's coin lost to Egypt
AMERICA's only surviving 1933 Double Eagle gold coin, which was held for many years by Egypt's King Farouk, was sold late last week at a Sotheby's auction despite Egypt's efforts to retrieve it. The coin, which disappeared in 1954 and was reclaimed by the US Mint only six years ago, fetched a staggering $7.59 million. Nevine El-Aref investigates how and why Egypt lost its case
At first glance this might seem to be a repetition of the same old story -- an object to which Egypt has a historical claim being put up for sale at a foreign auction house abroad and a failure by the Egyptian authorities to stop the sale. This time the object at issue is of American origin and the tide is turned, but it is nevertheless a great loss to Egypt.
The failure comes on the heels of Egypt's success almost a month ago in having had withdrawn from sale at Christies a relief hailing from the temple of Behbeit Al-Hagar in the Delta. The coin Egypt has now failed to recover is a $20 Double Eagle coin, one of the great treasures of Farouk's impressive antiquities and coin collection. It was sold on 30 July for $7.59 million at auction at Sotheby's and Stack's -- two firms whose history in the coin trade stretches back to 1765 and 1935 -- on behalf of the US government.
"We left no stone unturned in our attempt to recover this most valuable gold coin in the world," Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni said. He added that legal documents proving Egypt's right to the coin were sent to US Customs, Interpol and other US bodies in an attempt to stop the sale, but: "All were turned down."
"Our failure to recover the coin was due to loopholes of the old antiquities law which allowed for the trade of antiquities," said Zahi Hawass, secretary- general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). "The coin that disappeared from Farouk's collection in 1954 was not governed by the 1983 Antiquities Law and that made it impossible to recover it."
The story began two weeks ago when the SCA was informed that the rare 1933 Double Eagle coin, which was apparently stolen from Farouk's collection in 1954, would be auctioned on 30 July. This was the first time ever that the US had authorised the sale at such an auction of an object belonging to the state.
"This unique coin has been the centre of international intrigue for more than 70 years," Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore said.
After it was struck in 1933 at the time of President Roosevelt, the coin was never circulated and an order was given for all the coins to be destroyed. However, 10 specimens escaped into private hands. Since they had never been officially issued, ownership was declared illegal.
Nine of these were seized by the United States Secret Service (USSS) in the 1940s and 1950s and joined the rest of the issue in being melted down. But the tenth, which was owned by Egypt's King Farouk, escaped destruction. It was thus a solitary antiquity of enormous value.
According to Sotheby's Web site, early in 1944 -- prior the US government's discovery of the missing 1933 Double Eagle -- the Royal Legation of Egypt presented the coin to the Treasury Department, seeking a licence to export tit to Egypt to add to Farouk's collection. The issuers of the export licence required for virtually all gold coins, in force under the extensive gold restrictions in effect since March 1933, did not recognise the significance of an unissued 1933 coin, and the Treasury Department inadvertently issued the export licence.
In 1954 the Double Eagle was put up for sale with other valuables in King Farouk's private collection. Sotheby's, acting on behalf of the new Republic of Egypt, was in charge of selling the astonishing collection assembled by the dethroned monarch, who was one of the most enthusiastic coin collectors of all time. The sale of his collection of more than 8,500 gold coins took nine days. During the auction the US Treasury Department requested that the Double Eagle be withdrawn from sale. This was done, but afterwards it disappeared under mysterious circumstances and nothing was heard of it for nearly half a century.
In 1996 Secret Service agents posing as buyers set up a sting at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York and managed to seize the coin from two dealers, one of them British, who had apparently been attempting to sell it. A five-year legal battle ensued, as a result of which a singular settlement was made between the American government and the British dealer under which the coin was officially released to the latter's private ownership. Thus was based on the understanding that it was previously owned by King Farouk and officially recognised as US coinage.
Now that Egypt has been unable to retrieve the coin its new, unnamed owner will be given an official Certificate of Transfer which makes it legally his. The substantial sale price will be divided equally between the British dealer and the US Treasury's General Fund.
Going, gone
The sale of a unique Double Eagle coin in a single lot at the York Avenue premises of Sotheby's on 30 July is unlikely to be forgotten, writes Alaa Riad from New YorkHundreds of people -- including many of the world's top collectors of modern coins -- crowded anxiously around the Double Eagle trying to catch their first and last glimpse of this splendid coin, the only example of its kind ever to go on sale. The auction started sharply at 6pm with a bid of $2.5 million. Within a mere four minutes a fierce battle among the bidders pushed the price to $5.1 million. Finally the broker of an unidentified coin collector, number L0003, sealed the deal at $7.59 million -- representing $6.6 million plus 15 per cent commission to Sotheby's. The buyer must also pay an extra $20 to the US Treasury in repayment of the original face value of the coin.
David Reden, deputy head of Sotheby's, described the coin as "a piece of gold that travelled around the world to unknown destinations for more than 70 years". Steven Tibo, an ardent collector and one of the auctioneers, described it as "a rare piece of gold, the likes of which I have never seen". As for the broker, he happily acknowledged Egypt's role in preserving the coin through King Farouk: "Without him this treasure would have been melted down like others," he said.
The Double Eagle, one of 445,500 $20 coins minted in 1933, weighs 33.44 grams and has a gold quality of 21.6 carats. In fact the coin only bears one eagle, but because the $10 bill bears an eagle the $20 coin came to be known as the "double eagle". The well-known American eagle is stamped on one face, while the reverse features the famous Statue of Liberty.
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