I was just reading that, after considering it for decades, the United States and Denmark finally agreed to transfer the Virgin Islands out of concern that they would be occupied by Germany and used as a submarine base. Various sources cite the price of 25 million in gold coin, but don't mention how it was paid. Did they literally ship a chest full of gold across the Atlantic and North Sea right under Germany's nose? Or did it just happen on paper with no physical gold changing hands? If the latter, is there still a Virgin Islands' worth of gold sitting in a US vault labeled "Denmark"?
Once the United States agreed to buy the Virgin Islands for what is now $561,336,379, the information was wired to New York, then Puerto Rico, where the news was carried to the USS Hancock at Guantanamo Bay. Embarking a marine detachment at Santa Domingo, the ship sailed to the island of Saint Thomas, where the carryover was indicated. I can’t find any source that says if the Hancock sailed with the gold and transferred it to the HDMS Valkyrein, but what I can say is that Transfer Day, as it is known now, is still a celebratory day in the islands.
Source: A History of the Virgin Islands of The United States, Dockhan, Issac, Chapter 14