Ten rare gold coins at the center of a tug-of-war between the federal government and a Philadelphia family are back in the hands of the family following a split Third Circuit decision issued April 17.

The majority of the appeals court held the government's failure to initiate a judicial civil forfeiture proceeding after it seized the coins 10 years ago means the coins must be returned to the Langbord family, who found them in a safety deposit box apparently left by the late Israel Switt, Joan Langbord's father.

“At the insistence of the mint and against the wisdom of the Secret Service and multiple other agencies, the government opted to ignore CAFRA,” Judge Marjorie O. Rendell wrote for the majority, referring to the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act. “Now, the Langbords are entitled to the return of the double eagles.”