For those who enjoy conspiracy theories, the government did NOT buy the 1933 DE. How would I know this, because you cannot hide that much money from the accountants. The proceeds went into the General fund and were returned to Treasury in the annual transfer of Mint profits to the Treasury. I forget exactly how much was returned that year, you could look it up in the annual report, but it was probably about $500 million.
Oh, and the chief accountant at that time is a good friend of mine and we discussed the entire issue as it was going on, watching the craziness of the sale, etc. Out of the ordinary transactions in the millions of dollars always get reviewed very closely, so as to satisfy all the rules, not the mention the auditors.
Retired United States Mint guy, now working on an Everyman Type Set.
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Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.
Oh, and the chief accountant at that time is a good friend of mine and we discussed the entire issue as it was going on, watching the craziness of the sale, etc. Out of the ordinary transactions in the millions of dollars always get reviewed very closely, so as to satisfy all the rules, not the mention the auditors.