The High Price

Whoever thought that not-so-good 1947 movie, The Brasher Doubloon, starring George Montgomery as Raymond Chandler’s private eye, Philip Marlowe, actually had a basis in fact?

Extremely Rare Gold Brasher Doubloon Minted in 1787 Fetches $7.4 Million

NEW ORLEANS -- 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, told The Associated Press 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.

It is the only known example of the doubloon with a distinctive hallmark punch on the eagle’s breast; five other known doubloons have a punch on the eagle’s left wing.

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, and foreign coins of various currencies were in use in the nation’s early years.

You’ll find the full AP story here.

READ MORE: “Marlowe Goes to the Movies,” by J. Kingston Pierce
(The Rap Sheet).