Posted on 04/15/2021 7:47:38 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The Brasher Doubloon, the first gold coin struck in the U.S., is being offered privately at a $15 million asking price, according to numismatic adviser Jeff Sherid. His firm, Los Angeles-based PCAG Inc., is marketing the coin on behalf of a collector he would only identify as a former Wall Street executive.
What is a gold coin worth today?
The doubloon is dated 1787 — 11 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, the same year the Constitution was written and five years before the federal mint opened in Philadelphia. Metalsmith Ephraim Brasher, George Washington’s next-door neighbor on New York’s Cherry Street, privately minted a small batch of the coins and punched this unique version with his hallmark “EB” on the eagle’s breast. The soon-to-be president almost certainly handled it, according to longtime numismatist John Albanese, founder of Certified Acceptance Corp., a coin-grade verification service.
“If you talk to coin nerds and old-time experts, I’m guessing they’d all say the Brasher Doubloon is the greatest coin ever because of the history,” Albanese said.
Uncertainty surrounding the coin’s original purpose adds to its mystique. Historians believe it may have been intended for circulation, though some theorize it could have been a prototype or souvenir. Seven examples survive but the others, including one in the Smithsonian, are stamped on the eagle’s wing rather than in the middle.
The coin also has a place in pop culture. Private eye Philip Marlowe hunted it in Raymond Chandler’s 1942 novel “The High Window” and a subsequent movie version.
Deals in the $4 billion U.S. rare-coin market are often done privately with prices kept mum. The auction record for a single coin was set in 2013, when a 1794 Flowing Hair silver dollar sold for $10 million.
The Brasher Doubloon will probably become the first $100 million coin someday, Albanese predicts. Originally worth about $15, it went on to sell for $625,000 in 1981, $2.99 million in 2005 and $7.4 million in 2011. The current owner paid an undisclosed sum in a 2015 private transaction.
Inflation is amazing. 26.6 grams, 22 carat gold. Would be worth $1380.42 today.
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New York and America Ever Higher?
They are extremely rare because they are, with I think one exception illegal to own. FDR withdrew gold from circulation before any 1933 double eagles were officially released. All examples therefore are ‘stolen’ U.S. property which the government will seize when it finds them.
King Farouk of Egypt managed to get ahold of one and that one is the only one that might be legal to own, if you can afford it.
yep, I read about some lady who found a bunch in a safe deposit box, sent them to the mint to have them authenticated and the mint seized them..
I think the dead relative who owned the box was connected with them mint in some way.
There was a guy selling some on a radio buy, sell, trade show. I remember handling a couple in the early ‘70s, too.
FWIW The Farouk coin was kept in the vaults of the WTC up until July of 2001. It was then decided to move it to Fort Knox.
I can get one from Fraklin Mint for $19.99! With a Certificate of Authenticity!
If stolen, it could be melted to about $700 worth of gold.
Detective Philip Marlowe recovered a Brasher Doubloon in Raymond Chandler’s “The High Window.”
That’s a pretty good movie. My wife and I watched it several times.
>>But there is a limit of five per customer because of demand and the guarantee of it increasing in value.<<
I had my wife sign up for 5 more using a different last name. I hope they don’t compare addresses!
"I'll give you fifty bucks"
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