The Legacy of Fellatio D. Rascalvelt.

The U.S. Mint seized 10 ‘‘double eagle’’ gold pieces, among the world’s rarest and most valuable coins, that were turned in by a jeweler to determine their authenticity.

Joan S. Langbord, who found the coins among the possessions of her father, longtime Philadelphia jeweler Israel Switt, plans a federal lawsuit to try to recover them, her attorney, Barry H. Berke, said Wednesday. David Lebryk, acting director of the Mint, said the rare $20 coins, which were never put in circulation, were public property. Lebryk had announced in a news release earlier this month that the coins received from Langbord were ‘‘recovered’’ after being taken from the Mint ‘‘in an unlawful manner more than 70 years ago.’’ Only 445,500 of the double eagles were minted, in 1933. The coins, designed by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, were never circulated, and the Mint’s inventory was melted into gold bars in 1937 after the country went off the gold standard. Only a few coins escaped the melting pot, including two that are at the Smithsonian Institution.

Berke said Mint officials couldn’t prove the coins had been stolen, or were subject to forfeiture. But Mint officials said Thursday that there is no circumstance under which double eagles could have legally been taken from the Mint.

A single double eagle was auctioned at Sotheby’s/Stack’s in 2002 for $7.59 million, the highest price ever paid for a coin, after the government reached a settlement with that coin’s dealer. One of the terms of the settlement was that it would have no ‘‘precedential significance’’ on any future double eagle that turned up. Langbord declined to discuss how the coins might have come into the possession of her father, who operated an antique and jewelry shop for 70 years and died in 1990 at the age of 95. ‘‘Until this is resolved, there is nothing I can say,’’ Langbord said Wednesday.

Berke said only that the coins were found recently. Langbord and her son, Roy, notified the Mint of the discovery in September, Berke said.

He said Mint officials asked to authenticate the coins, then confiscated them after doing so.

Berke said Langbord and her son never relinquished their right to the coins, and argued in a July 25 letter to the Mint that the seizure was unjustified.

But Mint officials said Thursday that Berke was told from the beginning that the coins would not be returned because they were the government’s property.

Switt had acknowledged in 1944 that he had sold nine of the coins, according to the Mint, which said in a timeline of the case, ‘‘Switt professed no recollection of his source for the coins.’’

The double eagles may be put on exhibit, but in the meantime they are secured in the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Ky., the Mint said.
(Thanks to the ironically named Williamsport Sun-Gazette and Yahoo!News for the heads up.)