t took more than a decade, but in April, Barry Berke finally claimed victory in his battle with the U.S. government over the fate of 10 of the world’s rarest coins. Siding with the Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel partner and his longtime clients, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that officials had illegally confiscated the coins and that the government must return them.
The coins—1933 Double Eagles, with an estimated combined value of $80 million—were allegedly discovered in a family safe deposit box in 2003 by the daughter of a deceased Philadelphia gold dealer named Israel Swift. The Double Eagle, a gold coin with a face value of $20, is rare because the coins were never officially released. Half a million were minted, but all but two were melted down amid Depression-era concerns about hoarding.
