So were coin collections.
They kept that bit in the very fine print. The extra large print read something like $10,00in 0 FINE/10 YEARS IN PRISON. So most people, who weren’t coin collectors, turned their quite-collectable coins. Word in my family was that gold coins were often gifts on special occasions which were kept and cherished like jewelry, only to be spent in a time of crisis. So grandma took her double eagle and got a nice, crisp $20 Federal Reserve Note in exchange.
And if you had a roll or two of quarter eagles ($2.50) and dates matched, that was viewed as evidence of hoarding as opposed to collecting.