"The Love Boat" was a one-hour television program which ran on the ABC television network from 1977 to 1986. The program was set on the cruise ship Pacific Princess which was owned by the Princess Cruises company. The series was a comedy about passengers and crew members on the cruise ship enjoying romantic attachments with each other along with various adventures. This episode has three different stories going at the same time, "The Mallory Quest", "Julie, the Vamp", and "The Offer", and was a two-part (two hours) program. The episode was first broadcast on November 15, 1980. The only story to feature coins is the one titled "The Mallory Quest". The story is about a famous writer who with his wife are passengers on the cruise ship. The writer gives four $20 gold coins to four passengers along with notes offering them money to search for the writer's nephew.

The various regular characters are introduced, Captain Merrill Stubing (Gavin MacLeod), Doctor Adam Bricker (Bernie Kopell), Ship's Purser Bill 'Gopher' Smith (Fred Grandy), Bartender Isaac Washington (Ted Lange), and Cruise Director Julie McCoy (Lauren Tewes). The cruise ship Pacific Princess leaves Los Angeles for a two-week trip to the Panama Canal, Aruba, Martinique, St. Thomas, and Puerto Rico. Another cruise ship, the Island Princess is used for some of the scenes. Passengers Janet and Brian Mallory then appear.

Mallory has given four packages to Purser Bill who is instructed to give three to specified passengers and to keep the fourth one for himself.

Bill hands a package to passenger Peter Andrews. The package contains a coin and a note.

The coin obverse is of a US $20 Liberty Head gold coin dated 1904. These coins weighed a little less than a troy ounce (31.1 grams). The price of gold in November 1980 was around $600 to $650 per troy ounce.

The note reads:

Bill hands a package to passenger Marcia Rand (Connie Stevens).

Marcia's boyfriend Dave Porter watches as Marcia holds her coin. Bill hands a package to passenger Marvin Jones.

Marvin holds his coin.

Bill looks at his coin.

The coin is also a US $20 Liberty Head gold coin dated 1904. (The 1904 $20 gold coin is not a rare coin). The four recipients arrive at the appointed time.

The four are Peter, Marcia, Bill, and Marvin. Mallory tells them that he is searching for his nephew, Tom Mallory, the son of his deceased brother. Mallory has not seen his nephew since he was a little boy but the four selected people have seen him more recently and that the nephew may be living at one of the places where the cruise ship will stop. Mallory offers the four a large sum of money if they can locate the nephew. The ship heads to the Panama Canal to cross eastward into the Caribbean Sea.

The ship then heads to Aruba in the Netherlands Antilles.

Mallory reveals that his nephew has a valuable piece of jewelry that belongs to Mallory. A mysterious man, Lucius Kergo, has started following the searchers.

The newspaper article states that:

After spending time in Aruba the ship then heads to Martinique where Mallory visits the grave of his brother. The ship then heads to St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands where the group meets a Father Briorly.

Father Briorly is a Roman Catholic priest who tells them that Tom Mallory is living in Puerto Rico as a member of a religious order. The ship travels to Puerto Rico where Mallory and his group visit an old fort. They are followed by Lucius who produces a gun.

Lucius finds Tom Mallory and steals a box containing the jewelry. The group chases Lucius and catches him.

Brian Mallory decides to leave the jewelry with Tom Mallory.

They plan to donate the jewelry to a medical facility.

Gavin MacLeod as Captain Merrill Stubing
Bernie Kopell as Doctor Adam Bricker
Fred Grandy as Ship's Purser 'Gopher' Smith
Ted Lange as Bartender Isaac Washington
Lauren Tewes as Cruise Director Julie McCoy
Pernell Roberts as Brian Mallory
Gayle Hunnicutt as Janet Mallory
Skip Stephenson as Peter Andrews
Connie Stevens as Marcia Rand
Peter Lupus as Dave Porter
as Marvin Jones
Sorrell Booke as Lucius Kergo
James Dobson as Father Briorly
Gregg Robblee as Tom Mallory
Director: Richard Kinon
Writers: Stephen Kandel, Harvey Bullock