Double Eagle: The Epic Story of the World’s Most Valuable Coin

Double Eagle: The Epic Story of the World’s Most Valuable Coin

by Alison Frankel

This is one of those books that sounds really interesting at first, but which eventually gets shuffled aside in favor of other, more immediately interesting titles. Frankel’s book describes how a single 1933 “Double Eagle” $20 gold coin, taken surreptitiously from the US Mint in Philadelphia, became perhaps the world’s most valuable, and sought-after, coin. I just didn’t find the tale that compelling, laden as it is with lots of side discursions about coin collecting. Frankel says of one collector that “Either you have a passion for coins, or you don’t.” I guess I don’t. In fairness, I didn’t finish the book because the library was demanding its return; perhaps the last third is more interesting. I’ll probably go back to it once my queue gets a little shorter.