Family wins back coins worth $80m

A US appeals court overturned a jury verdict and awarded a Philadelphia family the rights to 10 rare gold coins that could fetch $80m.

US Treasury officials insist the $20 Saint-Gaudens “Double Eagles” were stolen from the US Mint in Philadelphia before the 1933 series was melted down when the country went off the gold standard.

They argue that Joan Langbord and her sons cannot lawfully own the coins she said she found in a family bank deposit box in 2003.

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Her father, jeweller Israel Switt, had dealings with the Mint in the 1930s and was twice investigated over his coin holdings. A jury in 2012 sided with the government.

However, an appeals court has returned the coins to the Langbords because US officials had not responded within the 90-day limit to the family’s seized property claim, filed in about 2004.

“Congress clearly intended for there to be limits on the government’s ability to seek forfeiture of citizens’ property, and today’s ruling reaffirms that those limits are real and won’t be excused when the government violates them,” family lawyer Barry Berke said.

Joan Langbord, 85, worked in her father’s store on Jeweller’s Row for most of her life. Her sons, entertainment lawyer Roy Langbord of New York City and David Langbord of Virginia Beach, Virginia, joined her in the 13-year legal fight.

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