The rest were melted down into gold bullion by the Mint in 1934. The Mint delivered two examples to the National Numismatic Collection for public display officially, these should have been the only two pieces in existence. The Mint also struck 445,000 $20 double eagles in April 1933, but because they were struck after the surrender order, they were never issued to the public and they were officially no longer legal tender. Some were officially issued and made it into private hands, but most remained at the Mint or were returned later, and today, there are fewer than forty survivors, worth at least $250,000 each. The Philadelphia Mint struck 312,000 ten-dollar Eagles in early 1933, prior to the Gold Surrender Order. The gold that was turned in was exchanged for other forms of currency, usually 'silver certificates.' In January 1934, Congress de-monetized gold coins. The Order made exceptions for gold coins with special collector value and for gold used in art or business. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102, sometimes called the 'Gold Surrender Order.' This Order required 'all persons' to turn in their gold coins, gold bullion and gold certificates (paper money redeemable in gold) to the Federal Reserve or a member bank. If your bank went broke, all your money was gone. There was no insurance back then for bank deposits. One of the factors that made the Depression so severe was that thousands of banks failed, i.e., went bankrupt, and wiped out the savings of their depositors. The year 1933 was the fourth and generally the worst year of the Great Depression. The Double Eagle contained nearly an ounce of gold, while the Eagles contained nearly a half-ounce.

These were the ten-dollar gold piece, known as the Eagle and the twenty-dollar gold piece, known as the Double Eagle. In 1933, the United States Mint manufactured the last gold coins ever made for circulation at face value. Mint and its various branches between 1792 and today, there is only one coin that is illegal to own: the 1933 $20 gold piece.

Gold coins made by the us mint