AP Exclusive: Rare 1787 gold coin fetches $7.4M
By MARY FOSTER, Associated Press
Dec 12, 2011 2:33 AM CST
In a photo provided by Blanchard and Company, Inc., a rare 1787 gold Brasher doubloon, which sold for $7.4 million, one of the highest prices ever paid for a gold coin, is seen in New Orleans, Friday, Dec. 9, 2011. Blanchard and Co., the New Orleans-based coin and precious metals company that brokered...   (Associated Press)

An exceedingly rare 1787 gold Brasher doubloon has been sold for $7.4 million, one of the highest prices ever paid for a gold coin.

Blanchard and Co., the New Orleans-based coin and precious metals company that brokered the deal, said the doubloon was purchased by a Wall Street investment firm. Identities of the buyer and seller were not disclosed.

Minted by Ephraim Brasher, a goldsmith and neighbor of George Washington, the coin contains 26.66 grams of gold _ slightly less than an ounce. Worth about $15 when it was minted, the gold value today would be more than $1,500.

The Brasher doubloon is considered the first American-made gold coin denominated in dollars; the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia didn't begin striking coins until the 1790s.

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