The unique 1787 Brasher Doubloon
"EB" Counterstamp on Breast

In 1787, a prominent New York City silversmith and goldsmith, Ephraim Brasher (pronounced Bray-zher), produced a small number of gold coins. His exact reason for delving into the production of coinage is not entirely certain, but historians now believe that Brasher produced his coins for circulation, not as patterns, as was originally thought. In fact, all but one of the coins attributed to Brasher exhibit some amount of wear, indicating that the pieces spent time in the channels of commerce.

Many of the erroneous impressions about why Brasher made his gold coins may lie in his connection to George Washington. There is clear record that Washington was a customer - and possibly a friend - of Brasher. Washington was also Brasher’s neighbor in the well-to-do Cherry Hill district of New York. Because it was known at the time that George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other founding fathers reviewed pattern coinage for possible inclusion in the monetary system of the United States, there is conjecture that Brasher produced the coins as patterns to show his friend. If his designs impressed Washington enough, it might ensure Brasher the right to design the official gold coins for the new Republic. However, Washington did not live next door to Brasher until 1789, two years after Brasher produced his gold Doubloons!

Surviving documents show that on February 11, 1787, Ephraim Brasher, possibly with a business associate, John Bailey, petitioned the New York State Assembly to produce copper coins for the state. Several months after Brasher submitted his petition he was turned down, as were other competitors, when the state decided against minting copper coins. This, however, would not have deterred Brasher from producing his gold coins. With the new Republic in a state of flux, foreign coins circulating freely, and no federal currency yet issued, it would have been perfectly acceptable and logical for Brasher to produce his Doubloons. Their production resulted in America’s first circulating gold coins.

Ephraim Brasher, born in 1744, lived his entire life in New York City where he died in 1810. He married Anne Gilbert, the sister of New York silversmith William Gilbert in 1766. In 1797, sometime after Anne’s death, Brasher married Mary Austin. Records are unclear as to whether or not Ephraim had children. In any case, his legacy lives on in the form of America’s first and most famous gold coin.

The 1787 Brasher Doubloon is an impressive example of early American design. The debate continues as to which side of the coin is the obverse, but most numismatists now agree that the landscape side of the coin is the obverse. The coin features the radiant sun just behind the peak of a mountain with the sea in front. Brasher’s name is boldly engraved below the sea. The landscape is framed by a circle of beads.   Along the periphery of the coin, separated by rosettes, are the legends “NOVA EBORAC,” which is the Latin name for New York, “COLUMBIA” and the state motto “EXCELSIOR.” Translated literally, the legend means New York, America, Ever Upward. “Excelsior” remains the New York State motto to this day.

The reverse depicts a proud, heraldic eagle with its wings displayed. The eagle is facing right and its head is surrounded by thirteen five-pointed stars, symbolizing the thirteen original states. Across the eagle’s breast is a shield. In the right talon, representing peace, are olive branches, and in the left talon are the arrows of war. The entire eagle is encircled by a wreath. At the bottom edge of the coin is the date with rosettes placed on either side. At the top edge is the inscription “UNUM E PLURIBUS” (One From Many) which is separated by two six-pointed stars. 

The coin is called a Doubloon because it is approximately equal in weight to the Spanish Doubloon which circulated actively in colonial America.   A value of $16 was initially attributed to the coin, but later research shows that this value was erroneously placed and the “Doubloon” was actually worth $15 at the time of issue.   This value was first suggested in a comprehensive article about Brasher Doubloons written by numismatist William Swoger and published in the June 1, 1992 issue of Coin World magazine.   Additional information about weights and measures of the era was published in the 1993 book, "Money of the American Colonies and Confederation," by Phil Mossman.  

David McCarthy, numismatic researcher for The Brasher Bulletin, the newsletter of the Society for Private and Pioneer Numismatics agrees. "The coinage standards of weight and value established by the Bank of New York in 1784 indicate that Doubloons weighing 17 pennyweights (about ¾ of an ounce) were valued at $15. Brasher's Doubloons weigh 17 pennyweights, and would therefore have been $15 coins," said McCarthy.

Ephraim Brasher’s first effort to produce gold coins for circulation appears to be in 1786 when he made the 1742-dated Lima-Style gold Doubloon (a stylistic copy of a coin of Philip V produced in Lima, Peru, 1742). There are two known 1742 Lima-Style Brasher Doubloons. Brasher also made a unique 1787 Half Doubloon which resides in the Smithsonian Collection. There are only seven examples of the Brasher Doubloon known to still exist. Six examples bear Brasher’s initials in an oval cartouche on the eagle’s wing. A unique example bears the E.B hallmark across the shield on the eagle’s breast.

The pedigree for the unique Punch-on-Breast 1787 Brasher Doubloon is impressive. The coin was first mentioned by William Ewing DuBois, the first curator of the United States Mint's collection, who described it as “a very remarkable gold coin, equal in value to a Doubloon, coined at New York in 1787.” How it was placed in the Mint’s collection and then surfaced in the notable collection of Charles Bushnell in 1864, is unclear. Bushnell died in 1880, whereupon collector, Lorin Parmelee, bought the entire collection for $8,000. After removing some of the coins, Parmelee then consigned the remaining collection, which included the Punch-on-Breast Doubloon, to Henry and Samuel Chapman of Philadelphia, who auctioned it in 1882. The Doubloon was purchased for a record $505 by New York coin dealer, Edouard Frossard, representing T. Harrison Garrett of Baltimore, who was assembling one of the greatest collections of all time.

In a new article for The Brasher Bulletin, David McCarthy writes:

The Brasher Punch-on-Breast Doubloon is the first gold coin of a distinctly American design to be denominated in dollars and struck to the standard that would be adopted for all U.S. gold coins. It is the first truly American gold coin, and is the forbear of all gold coins struck by the United States. No other U.S. Colonial or Federal coin can lay claim to such historical significance, placing Brasher's first New York-style Doubloon in a class by itself. The history surrounding its origins, its distinction as the product of the first issuer of private gold coins in America and its status as the first gold coin depicting specific American themes make the Brasher Punch-on-Breast Doubloon the single most important coin in the canon of American numismatics.

References:

Bowers, Q. David. The History of United States Coinage as Illustrated by the Garrett Collection.
Wolfeboro: Bowers and Merena Galleries, Inc., 1979.

Bowers, Q. David. United States Gold Coins, An Illustrated History.
Wolfeboro: Bowers and Merena Galleries, Inc., 1982.

McCarthy, David. Understanding Brasher’s Doubloons.
The Brasher Bulletin, 2006.

For more information about this coin, please visit Rare Coin Wholesalers at http://www.rcw1.com/m/.  Images courtesy of Steve Contursi.