Last sold at public
auction by Stack's for $625,000 in March 1981.
In 1787, Ephraim Brasher
was granted a petition to mint copper coins in New York State. Brasher,
a goldsmith and silversmith, was already quite highly regarded for his
skills. In fact, George Washington was one of his clients as well as a
neighbor at one point in time. Brasher struck various coppers, in addition
to a small quantity of gold coins, over the next few years. Keep in mind
that the official United States Mint was not to become a reality until
1793 for all intents and purposes. The lack of readily available, full-weight,
non-counterfeit coinage, was a major problem in this historically significant
point of our nation's growth.
Brasher's hallmark was highly
significant in early America. Not only did he mark his own gold coins,
but he also stamped other coinage sent to him for assay. When Brasher's
mark was present on a coin, it would "pass" without question. This was
a very nice feature to have when one takes into account the level of "crapola"
that was attempting to pass as "good" coinage. Some people show no lack
of creativity in cheating their fellow man. Counterfeiting and clipping
small (and sometimes not so small) portions of coins was quite widespread
in colonial times. It is helpful to remember that the intrinsic value (fineness
and weight of the metal) was the single most important aspect to coinage
of the period. In other words, the issuing body wasn't such a major factor
in whether or not the coin would be accepted at time of purchase. If a
seller wished to refuse a coin, he was certainly well in his rights to
do so. Again, because of his expertise and track-record, a coin with the
Brasher hallmark was certain to pass in the channels of commerce.
The hallmark "EB" represents
its maker, Ephraim Brasher. This is the ONLY KNOWN SPECIMEN with the hallmark
on the eagle's breast. Other Brasher Doubloons, of which very few are known,
have the hallmark on the eagle's wing.
No one is quite sure why
this is the only specimen known to exist with "EB" on the breast. Was this
his personal piece? A special coin for someone special in his life? A customer
request? We will probably never know for sure. In the 1940's, Raymond Chandler
authored a novel entitled The High Window about the coin. A few years later,
a movie with the apt title The Brasher Doubloon was made. Unfortunately,
the entertainment industry sometimes thinks it must fictionalize important
historical events to "sell" it to the "ignorant" public. The true story
surrounding this coin needs no media hype as it stands on its own merits.
In 1792, a year before minting
actually began at the Federal mint, Brasher did assay work for them, probably
of foreign specie to be melted for recoinage. He earned a handsome $27
for these efforts!
A Brasher Doubloon currently
residing in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution
was discovered on its way to the melting pot in 1838. It was rescued from
a group sent to the mint for melting. By 1875, three others had been discovered,
including the present specimen. Charles I. Bushnell was the lucky collector
to have gained possession of the "ultimate spotlight in all of numismatics".
In that year, a book noted its uniqueness. "...four of the Doubloons have
come to our knowledge; they are owned by Mr. Bushnell, Mr. Parmalee, Mr.
Stickney, and the United States Mint at Philadelphia.; the first has the
punchmark on the breast of the eagle."
In 1882, the unique Bushnell
specimen was first offered for sale. It created so much excitement in the
numismatic community that the price soared to a record $505 before the
auction hammer finally fell. Edouard Frossard, a famed coin dealer of the
time, purchased the coin as a representative of T. Harrison Garrett. This
coin remained in the Garrett family for nearly a century when it was given
to the Johns Hopkins University along with the entire Garrett collection.
The Johns Hopkins University sold the collection during 1979-81.
Pedigree: Busnell-Garrett-Parrino
Specimen.
