July 30, 2002 was a brutal day in Manhattan, flags wilting listlessly in the still heat, the air so thick and wet that it seemed you might be able to chew it. Outside Sotheby's auction house, a long line of limousines stretched into the distance, their engines idling with the air conditioning on, the exhaust fumes pooling into a choking grey fog.
Read about the incredible true story of the 1933 Double Eagle - seventy years of intrigue, rumour and deception.
Executive Order 6102 Read the full text of the Executive Order with which President Franklin D Roosevelt banned the private ownership of gold in 1934
Photo Gallery See photographs of some of the key buildings and places that feature in The Double Eagle.
Tom's Watches Tom is fascinated by watches, an interest that started when his mother left him a 1954 Jaeger le Coultre Memovox. Find out about the watches mentioned in The Double Eagle.
Backgammon Explained Tom is an expert Backgammon player, but where did the game originate and what are the rules?
Further reading A useful bibliography for those who want to know more ...
The History of the Double Eagle
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