The Gold Arbiters

A Story by Sami Khalil

The god-awful curse... True historic events with some fiction added for drama.

Image result for KIng Farouk's paintings

The Gold Arbiters By Sami Khalil

< god-awful curse >

The warnings and predictions were no less staggering than the sad string events that followed. Even agnostics can relate to.

With a sacred coin toss that rested on its tail and not the head, a delegation of Native Californians (Indigenous tribes) had approached Theodore Roosevelt with a test and a letter of wise warnings that was read, never went anywhere but on deaf ears, tucked away somewhere.

Theodore Roosevelt, upon ascending the office in 1901, felt the need to re-design, adapt and produce mass numbers of $10, $20 gold coins from Native lands, hiring a real artist who will showcase the important status of the nation across the globe.

In 1905, he settled upon a master sculptor, of things big and small, named Augustus St. Gaudens, who had a facile command of the art and with great reputation. He went on to design the most beautiful coins in US history with the 1933 Double- Eagle as the crown jewel of them all.

Since the gold came from Native lands, and since they were guarded by spectral spirits, they had a requisite curse (thrice cursed indeed). The US went on to produce 445.000 gold coins during that period before the harshest adversity hit the country from 1929 till 1939(The Great Depression).

Originated by the delegation’s predictions, someone with similar last name will ascend the helm. Known by his initials, another one indeed did in 1933 by the name of FDR where the R stands for Roosevelt.

He ruled from 1933 till 1945 upon his death. Sifting through the Oval Office at the White House, going through the private study, the president’s secretary had found a mysterious letter, tucked away in a dusty book, never seen before and with Indian chiefs’ signatures at the bottom, she brought it to FDR to look upon. Instantly, he was stunned when reading such contents for they had foreboding messages:

“Cursed be the person or nation, with authority and exhibited might, who partakes in excavating, owning, distributing and profiteering from the sale of this sacred gold, found on holy lands, without the consent, authorization and blessings of the spectral spirits. In no ceremonial manner but an Indian one shall you partake in. The 1933 shall be the most damning, Take heed!”

Upon reading this, alarmed during the curse of the depression, he issued an executive order (6102) ordering all people to turn in their gold coinage back to the government as a civic duty, and no more gold coins will be in circulation thereafter.

Upon collecting the gold from the masses, they were turned into bars by the US Treasury.

FDR even sent a top-secret letter to King Farouk of Egypt and Sudan, warning him about the curse, for he knew the king was in fact the king of coins, too, where he collected the greatest numismatic collection of all times (8500 gold coins by some accounts and many other pedigreed metal ones).

King Farouk, reigned 1936-1952 had drawn the ire of his people and the army by his many misdeeds.

Leading an extravagant lifestyle, fancying the playboy ways, being an avid collector, a kleptomaniac and a weakling, he was forced to abdicate the throne by a bloodless military coup in 1952, forcing him to his exile till the day he died abroad.

He frittered away the support of the people and did not heed warnings. What a price to pay! Or was it the god-awful curse? Ask the gold arbiters…the spectral ones…

Image result for Augustus St Gaudens pics'