$7 Million Gold, $10 Million Silver Coins in Spotlight in L.A. The first gold coin made in the United States and first silver dollar made at the United States Mint, insured for a combined $17 million, will be exhbited together in Los Angeles, August 5 - 9, 2009.
News-Antique.com - Aug 02,2009 - (Los Angeles, California) -- The famous Brasher Doubloon, the first gold coin made in the United States that was hand-struck in 1787 by George Washington's New York City neighbor, will be a featured exhibit at the World's Fair of Money in Los Angeles, August 5 - 9, 2009. The unique coin is insured for $7 million for the five-day public display by co-owners, Steven L. Contursi of Laguna Beach, California, President of Rare Coin Wholesalers of Dana Point, California, and Donald H. Kagin, Ph. D., President of Kagin's in Tiburon, California.
Sponsored by the nonprofit, Congressionally-chartered American Numismatic Association, the World's Fair of Money is expected to attract more than 10,000 visitors who will see the one-of-a-kind gold piece that was described by a former President of the association as "the single most important coin in American numismatics."
The show will be held in the Los Angeles Convention Center West Hall A, 1201 S. Figueroa St., and is open to the public daily from 10 am. to 6:30 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, August 5 - 9.
"Being the first gold coin struck in the United States makes the Brasher Doubloon a national treasure with tremendous significance for American history. It underscores the beginnings of our economic system," said Contursi.
He also will exhibit what many numismatic experts believe is the very first silver dollar struck by the United States Mint in 1794. It is insured for $10 million.
This will be the first time these two coins with a combined insured value of $17 million have been publicly exhibited together in Southern California, and only the second time they've ever been shown together anywhere outside a museum.
The Brasher Doubloon was struck in 1787 by George Washington's Manhattan neighbor, silversmith and well-known political figure of the day, Ephraim Brasher.
Only seven Brasher Doubloons of this type survive today, and this specimen is unique. It is the only one with the designer's initials, "EB," punched across the breast of an eagle depicted on the coin The six other surviving examples have the initials on the eagle's right wing.
The unique Brasher Doubloon was kept in Baltimore for nearly 100 years when it was owned by Baltimore & Ohio Railroad magnate T. Harrison Garrett and his family, and later by The Johns Hopkins University. The coin was the subject of a 1942 Raymond Chandler novel, "The High Window," and a subsequent 1947 movie, "The Brasher Doubloon," based on Chandler's story about fictional detective Philip Marlowe.
Since acquiring it in January 2005, Contursi has exhibited the famous coin with educational displays in Atlanta, Kansas City, Las Vegas, New York and San Francisco.
For additional information about the Brasher Doubloon and Rare Coin Wholesalers, visit online at www.RCW1.com or Kagin's at www.Kagins.com.
For additional information about the World’s Fair of Money, visit www.WorldsFairofMoney.com.
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