Langbords win.

SanctionII · April 17, 2015 2:50AM

I just looked at the appellate court docket and saw that the Court Of Appeal has issued a ruling today that vacates the trial court judgment and sends the case back to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with the opinion issued by the Court Of Appeal.

Have not seen the opinion of the Court Of Appeal. I assume it will be available shortly and that it will be widely distributed.

The case will apparently continue its journey through the court system.

LanceNewmanOCC · April 17, 2015 2:55AM

.
i am astonished.
.

DeepCoin · April 17, 2015 2:56AM

The Road Goes On Forever.....

SanctionII · April 17, 2015 2:58AM

The opinion of the court is posted. 60 pages [1-34 is the opinion of the majority of the court and 35-60 is a dissenting opinion]. I looked at the tail end of the majority opinion [page 34].

The court is ordering the government to return the 10 double eagles to the Langbords.

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TwoSides2aCoin · April 17, 2015 3:06AM

And with the absence of malice,… I would dare challenge any citizen anywhere to find a better system of governance than this, in the world today, if these coins are returned to the family. In addition, this case had to be one of the most intensive and exhaustive undertakings in many years. By the people and for the people .
'tis a good day.

Wow … but until Joan sings, I'm going to withhold a happy dance

cladking · April 17, 2015 3:09AM

This is great to see.

It is always wonderful to see individual rights triumph over government procedures and red tape.

Mebbe now this will even mark the end of modern (1933 to date) bashing.

asheland · April 17, 2015 3:09AM

That's great!

BAJJERFAN · April 17, 2015 3:11AM

I wonder if they'll crack em out!

Raufus · April 17, 2015 3:19AM

Love it!!!!!! Fantastic!!! Bummer for the buyer of the previously one legal coin. Will be great fun to follow the sale of these coins. How many more will surface now?

I'd love to know how much taxpayer money was wasted on this case.

Would b fun to know what folks think that these will bring.

Just so thrilled about this.

The Langboards are in for some good times.

JCLIGHTBRIGADE · April 17, 2015 3:20AM

Great news! Tried to link opinion but I guess a pacer account is req'd.

BAJJERFAN · April 17, 2015 3:22AM

<< Love it!!!!!! Fantastic!!! Bummer for the buyer of the previously one legal coin. Will be great fun to follow the sale of these coins. How many more will surface now? >>

I don't think this means it is over.

Davideo · April 17, 2015 3:23AM

Thanks for the info Sanction! Does the government have any sort of appeal recourse and do you think it likely that they take it?

dbldie55 · April 17, 2015 3:25AM

As long as crime pays, there will always be criminals.

Tomthecoinguy · April 17, 2015 3:45AM

<< As long as crime pays, there will always be criminals. >>

I agree, we will always have a government.

GregL · April 17, 2015 3:48AM

Opinion

GregL · April 17, 2015 3:53AM

The one thing to keep in mind is that this may NOT be the final decision. I would expect the Government to file an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Greg

19Lyds · April 17, 2015 3:53AM

<< I just looked at the appellate court docket and saw that the Court Of Appeal has issued a ruling today that vacates the trial court judgment and sends the case back to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with the opinion issued by the Court Of Appeal.

Have not seen the opinion of the Court Of Appeal. I assume it will be available shortly and that it will be widely distributed.

The case will apparently continue its journey through the court system. >>

Wow!

Never mind, I just read your post!

This is going to be the basis for some changes I think.

ricko · April 17, 2015 3:57AM

Awesome.... great to see this.... now we will see if the government continues or gives it up....Cheers, RickO

TopographicOceans · April 17, 2015 3:57AM

That's better than losing

19Lyds · April 17, 2015 4:00AM

<< This is great to see.

It is always wonderful to see individual rights triumph over government procedures and red tape.

Mebbe now this will even mark the end of modern (1933 to date) bashing.

>>

Nah!

There will ALWAYS be folks out there in the "black and white" world that will continue to see it as nothing more than theft by Izzy Switt which has now been blessed via the efforts of some "slick and slippery" high powered attorney. There minds will NEVER change since they can see it only ONE WAY.

19Lyds · April 17, 2015 4:00AM

<< I wonder if they'll crack em out!

>>

Well, I'll bet that the PCGS Team is working on a proposal at this very minute!

SanctionII · April 17, 2015 4:01AM

I skimmed the majority opinion. In summary the court of appeal concluded that the failure of the government to file a forfeiture complaint within the CAFRA deadline requires that the government return the coins to the Langbords and be barred from ever having any claim to same.

keyman64 · April 17, 2015 4:05AM

WOW!

This pleases me! We already have too many rare coins locked up that are not on permanent display and really are not accessible.
To prove beyond any doubt that these coins were stolen and not purchased at the mint is impossible! Based on that alone,
they should have the coins back.

What's sad is that this too will be appealed but that's okay. I just hope the Supreme Court agrees with the most recent ruling and
further hope that it will not take a million years to finish!

A special thanks to SanctionII for checking on this, following the case so closely and updating us every step of the way....for years!
Only a million years of updates to go!

Thanks SanctionII.

19Lyds · April 17, 2015 4:08AM

<< Love it!!!!!! Fantastic!!! Bummer for the buyer of the previously one legal coin. >>

I don't know that the values will be affected all that much. After all, look at how many 1955/55 DDO's are out their yet the relative rice seems unaffected. No doubt it'll become a grading war with the highest graded coins fetching some record prices though.

<< Will be great fun to follow the sale of these coins. How many more will surface now? >>

From what I understand, if anymore were to surface, the government would chase them in the exact same manner. Unless, of course, they surface with the Langbords. But even then, if they did, it "could" present them with more legal problems since this case dealt specifically with these 10 coins.

<< I'd love to know how much taxpayer money was wasted on this case. >>

I would like to know how much was spent but remember, the government attorney's get paid the same amount regardless of what they do. I'd think that the only relevant costs might be with filing fee's, grading fee's (wink wink), storage fee's, evidential fee's and what not.

<< Would b fun to know what folks think that these will bring. >>

I'm thinking at least 7 mil each if not more for the higher graded opieces. Remember, the folks that can afford these literally have "money to burn" should the nights get really cold.

guitarwes · April 17, 2015 4:09AM

I can hear Laura Sperber warming up her pen and the her checkbook now........

NotSure · April 17, 2015 4:36AM

Exactly how long has this nonsense been going on for? I'm torn between being happier that the coins are to be returned and enter the marketplace, or that the gov't actually lost this case.

relicsncoins · April 17, 2015 4:49AM

So in the end, with legal fees etc. the lawyers will end up with all the money or the coins or both.

BAJJERFAN · April 17, 2015 4:50AM

<< 

<< I'd love to know how much taxpayer money was wasted on this case. >>

I would like to know how much was spent but remember, the government attorney's get paid the same amount regardless of what they do. I'd think that the only relevant costs might be with filing fee's, grading fee's (wink wink), storage fee's, evidential fee's and what not.

>>

True, but the time spent on this case could probably have been better spent on something else. Thus it was excessive waste of resources..

tyler267 · April 17, 2015 4:50AM

<< I skimmed the majority opinion. In summary the court of appeal concluded that the failure of the government to file a forfeiture complaint within the CAFRA deadline requires that the government return the coins to the Langbords and be barred from ever having any claim to same. >>

So does this mean that these 10 coins plus the Farouk coin will be legal and all others will still be illegal to own.

steveben · April 17, 2015 4:56AM

nice!

Unknown · April 17, 2015 4:59AM

This content has been removed.

JCMhouston · April 17, 2015 5:00AM

<< I would dare challenge any citizen anywhere to find a better system of governance than this >>

A Benevolent Dictatorship might work pretty well. The case could have been decided in about an hour.

AUandAG · April 17, 2015 5:01AM

Now that the Gov has to return them, what bars the Langbords from selling them? Are they now free to do
what they want with them?

bob

BillJones · April 17, 2015 5:01AM

This is good to hear, but it's kind of like winning the 14th round of a 15 round round heavyweight champianship fight, (Yes they used to be that long.) after you have had your brains beat out in the first 13 rounds. It will take a knock-out to win the battle in the 15th round.

DennisH · April 17, 2015 5:04AM

Does the judgement include reimbursement by the government for the Langbords' attorney costs?

johnny9434 · April 17, 2015 5:08AM

thats good news to hear.

Swampboy · April 17, 2015 5:29AM

Thank you SanctionII for sticking with this case and summarizing the proceedings for us for all these years.

And to the Langbords...

Ahrensdad · April 17, 2015 5:36AM

Wow! Sanction, thank you for keeping us updated on this.

Zoins · April 17, 2015 5:39AM

<< The opinion of the court is posted. 60 pages [1-34 is the opinion of the majority of the court and 35-60 is a dissenting opinion]. I looked at the tail end of the majority opinion [page 34].

The court is ordering the government to return the 10 double eagles to the Langbords.

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >>

Wow is right! Amazing turnaround!

Kove · April 17, 2015 5:57AM

Excellent!

Whatever way they won, I've always thought there was a window where they could have legally obtained those coins

And many thanks to SanctionII for keeping all of us updated on these many years!

mrearlygold · April 17, 2015 6:01AM

Great! When will the bidding start at Heritage? I'm in.

U.S. must return rare double eagle gold coins to family
By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - The U.S. government must return 10 exceptionally rare gold coins worth millions of dollars each to a Pennsylvania family from which the purloined coins were seized a decade ago, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday.

By a 2-1 vote, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said Joan Langbord and her sons Roy and David are the rightful owners of the double eagle $20 gold pieces, after the government ignored their claim to the coins and missed a deadline to seek their forfeiture.

"The government knew that it was obligated to bring a judicial civil forfeiture proceeding or to return the property, but refused," Circuit Judge Marjorie Rendell wrote. "Having failed to do so, it must return the Double Eagles to the Langbords."

Patricia Hartman, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Zane Memeger in Philadelphia, said: "We are weighing our options."

The Philadelphia Mint in 1933 produced 445,500 double eagles. But they were not circulated because President Franklin Roosevelt, trying to halt a bank panic, removed gold coins from circulation and made ownership of large amounts illegal.

Most of the coins were melted down, but a few were smuggled out, including one that fetched $7.6 million at a 2002 auction after having once been possessed by Egypt's King Farouk.

The government had long suspected without proving that the late Israel Switt, a gold dealer and father of Joan Langbord, had smuggled some of the coins with the help of a Mint employee.

It seized the Langbords' double eagles after the family located the coins in a safe deposit box once belonging to Switt, and sought to have the Mint authenticate them.
http://news.yahoo.com/u-must-return-rare-double-eagle-gold-coins-185510525--finance.html

BryceM · April 17, 2015 6:10AM

I just want to see a real 1964-D Peace dollar.......

Maybe someday, if enough of these things turn the right way, the government will stop wasting our resources pursing such heinously malevolent evildoers. I'm no proponent of theft, but I'm a huge believer in the bedrock principle of innocent until PROVEN guilty.

DIMEMAN · April 17, 2015 6:19AM

WAY TO GO!!!!! The government needs to keep it's darn nose out of collector coins!!!!!!

Lakesammman · April 17, 2015 6:21AM

The gov't attorneys (and gov't in general) have no skin in the game, hence the endless legal battle.

Always easy to spend other peoples money.

RichieURich · April 17, 2015 6:31AM

<< I skimmed the majority opinion. In summary the court of appeal concluded that the failure of the government to file a forfeiture complaint within the CAFRA deadline requires that the government return the coins to the Langbords and be barred from ever having any claim to same. >>

I read the majority opinion, Sanction II is correct. Hopefully the government will give up the ghost on this one and legalize ANY and ALL 1933 double eagles. Assuming there are more out there, this would reduce the value of the Langbord coins.

I said all along that the most significant ground for appeal was the Trial Judge granting the government a "mulligan" by allowing them to file a CAFRA forfeiture action well after the deadline, (the Trial Judge said that the government shouldn't suffer because they had a "misguided legal strategy"; i.e., the decision to not file a CAFRA action on a timely basis).

All of us owe a big Thank you to Sanction II for his yeoman work in keeping us updated on this!

jmb · April 17, 2015 6:33AM

<< I'm no proponent of theft, but I'm a huge believer in the bedrock principle of innocent until PROVEN guilty. >>

AUandAG · April 17, 2015 6:34AM

They could have split them 50/50 a decade ago and we'd all be much happier and in less debt which
is now over 18,000,000,000,000 dollars.

bob

SaorAlba · April 17, 2015 6:49AM

The Supreme Court takes on only a mere fraction of cases - I doubt this will be taken as far as the Supreme Court.

BAJJERFAN · April 17, 2015 6:50AM

<< I skimmed the majority opinion. In summary the court of appeal concluded that the failure of the government to file a forfeiture complaint within the CAFRA deadline requires that the government return the coins to the Langbords and be barred from ever having any claim to same. >>

Unfortunately, court decisions can be turned and turned over again like pork chops on a grill.

PhillyJoe · April 17, 2015 6:54AM

Congrats to the Langbords.
It is always expensive to sue the government and win; in this case 8 -10 years?
I always thought the government had a weak case. I thought the Langbords had a good, not great, case.
The time to prove these were stolen was 80 years ago.
Sad that the Langbords will have to sell several to pay their attorney but that can be good for numismatics.

Joe

epcjimi1 · April 17, 2015 6:55AM

I hoped that a pro Langbord decision would occur, never thought it would happen.

>The opinion of the court is posted. 60 pages [1-34 is the opinion of the majority of the court and 35-60 is a dissenting opinion]. I looked at the tail end of the majority opinion [page 34].

The court is ordering the government to return the 10 double eagles to the Langbords
>

ENLIST ALL THE AUCTIONS, SELL 'EM NOW, CAPS INTENDED.

Langbords win.

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