the existence of the plain 4 pieces was revealed in 1869, when one was reproduced in the "american journal of numismatics". the significance and history of the pieces was at first unrecognized, and the revelation prompted no particular excitement. how the pieces returned to us authorities came to be dispersed is unknown. the set given to the king of siam was sold at auction by descendants of anna leonowens, who served as schoolteacher to the children of king mongkut of siam in the 1860s, although how it came into her possession is uncertain. today, three of the pieces are in private collections, the fourth is in the harry w. bass, jr. collection, displayed in the money museum of the american numismatic association in colorado springs, colorado. the siam set sold most recently for $8.5 million. from his experience of many years as a coin dealer, albanese believes that the eagle in that set is not the original, but another of the four 1804 plain 4 eagles, purchased to replace one sold to a collector.