Production of gold coinage was halted early in 1933. All double eagles struck that years were not to be released to the public, but melted down and conveyed as bullion to Fort Knox. But all of the coins were not melted down: as seems inevitable under these circumstances, a handful was spirited away, kept in hiding for decades. One coin surfaced recently, and a complicated arrangement resulted in its being sold at auction for millions of dollars.
The two coins seen here are the only other 1933 double eagles legally held. They were transferred from the U.S. Mint to the Smithsonian Institution.