Q.David Bowers
As late as 1821 various individuals were counterfeiting Spanish-style doubloons in New York City. In that year the authorities visited a private mint where two gentlemen were busily producing imitation gold coins, roasting them and tumbling them in sawdust to give them the appearance of being old. Samples of the unauthorized coinage were sent to the United States Mint in Philadelphia. When they were found to be of correct weight and value, no objection was raised. In a similar vein, Brasher could have copied foreign gold coins earlier without government interference.
At the time Brasher had obtained considerable fame and reputation as a quality silversmith and goldsmith. George Washington owned silver pieces, including two tea trays, made by Brasher and hallmarked with EB in an oval. At one time Washington was a neighbor to Brasher's No. 1 Cherry Street address. Prior to Washington's moving into 3 Cherry Street, Samuel Osgood, past commissioner of the Treasury under the Congress of the Confederation, was' 'requested to put the same and the furniture thereof in proper condition for the residence and use of the President of the United States." Purchased from Ephraim Brasher for an amount slightly over 283 pounds sterling were" sundry articles of plate. " Brasher's shop on Queen Street was just a short distance north of his home on Cherry Street.
In April 1790, after Washington moved to Broadway, he paid Ephraim Brasher 8 pounds, 8 shillings, and 4 pence for "4 silver skewers." During the same period Brasher made wares for other notables, including spoons for George Clinton.
Brasher's patronage by the President of the United States and other prominent people suggests that his reputation must have been unsurpassed at the time. He would have every reason to believe that gold coins prominently bearing his name would be accepted in the channels of commerce.
During the 1780s Brasher, in addition to his silver and goldsmithing, was busy with civic affairs. In 1784 and 1785 he served as sanitary commissioner. From 1786 to 1791 minutes of the Common Council indicate that Brasher was paid as a coroner' 'for taking inquests on dead bodies." In later years he served as an assistant justice (1794-1797), election inspector (1796-1809), and commissioner of excise (1806-1810).
Brasher remarried on December 2, 1797. It is not known whether his first wife died or if he was divorced. Brasher died in 1810. When his will was probated on December 11th of that year it was learned that his wife Mary was given "all my estate both real and personal."
Brasher doubloons first achieved numismatic recognition in 1838 when Adam Eckfeldt discovered a piece among gold coins which were sent to the mint for assay and melting. He withdrew the piece and gave it to the Mint Cabinet which at that time was at its early state of formation. In 1846 W. E. DuBois referred to the mint example as "a very remarkable gold coin, equal in value to a doubloon, coined at New York in 1787."
A dozen years later the obverse and reverse of the 1787 doubloon were described by J.H. Hickcox in An Historical Account of American Coinage, 1858. The several editions of Professor Montroville W. Dickeson's The American Numismatic Manual which first appeared in 1859 contained an illustration of the piece. Dickeson remarked that he had seen four examples and "it is said to have been duplicated in silver," although he had never seen one in that metal. He further noted that "it is inferable that this coin was gotten up as a pattern piece."
The first 1787 Brasher doubloon scheduled to appear at auction was the Seavey Collection specimen catalogued by W. H. Strobridge in 1873. However, Lorin G. Parmelee bought the entire collection intact before the sale took place, so the event was cancelled.
When Sylvester Crosby's monumental work The Early Coins of America, appeared in 1875, it contained an illustration of the Brasher doubloon. The author noted that "four of these doubloons have come to our knowledge; they are owned by Mr. Bushnell, Mr. Parmelee, Mr. Stickney, and the United States Mint at Philadelphia; the first has the punch-mark on the breast of the eagle."
The first Brasher doubloon to actually be sold at public auction was the Charles I. Bushnell specimen sold by the Chapman brothers in 1882. It realized $505 and was subsequently sold to T. Harrison Garrett through Ed. Frossard. This remains today as the only known specimen of the variety with the EB punchmark on the eagle's breast rather than the wing.
In 1890 the Robert Culton Davis specimen was the second to be auctioned and became the fifth example known to exist. The third piece to cross the auction block was the Parmelee Collection coin sold in the same year. Today five specimens of the 1787 doubloon with a punch-mark on the eagle's wing can be traced. An outstanding example of this type was in the Matthew Stickney Collection (sold in 1907). This piece was an important part of the American Numismatic Society's Exhibition of United States and Colonial Coins held in 1914. The piece, then a part of the Col. James W. Ellsworth Collection, was acquired by John Work Garrett in 1923.
1776 Continental Dollars
One of the most significant early American issues is the 1776 Continental dollar. Bearing devices and inscriptions taken from Continental currency paper money (of the authorization of February 17, 1776), these bear on the obverse the 1776 date and, surrounding, the inscription CONTINENTAL CURRENCY. Within is a sundial, below which is MIND YOUR BUSINESS, with FUGIO ("I fly," a reference to the passage of time) to the left. The reverse displays 13 intertwined circles, each with the name of a state, joined to form a linked chain border. Within the center is the inscription AMERICAN CONGRESS - WE ARE ONE.
Little is known concerning the origin of the Continental dollar. The resolution of February, 1776, pertaining to the issuance of paper money, resulted in the production of different denominations from the 1/6 dollar through$8, including the $1 denomination. The resolution of May 9, 1776, provided for the various denominations from the $1 through $8. However, the resolution of July 22, 1776, omitted the $1 and contained denominations from $2 through $30. Likewise, the final resolution of that year, November 2, 1776, omitted the $1 note and began with the $2. It may have been that it was intended that the metallic Continental dollar coin serve in the place of the $1 note during the latter part of 1776.
Certain varieties have the inscription E. G. FECIT meaning "E. G. made it." Eric P. Newman, who studied the series extensively, believes the Continental dollar dies to be the work of Elisha Gallaudet, of Freehold, New Jersey, who also engraved plates for printing Continental currency paper money.
Several different die varieties were made. The word currency was spelled three ways: CURRENCY, CURENCY, and CURRENCEY, the latter being imitative of an error found on the 1/6 dollar note of February 17, 1776, indicating that the engraver may have copied the specific legends on this particular design while making the dies.
Specimens of the Continental dollar, while elusive, do appear on the market with regularity, indicating that the original coinage must have been extensive. N early all known pieces were made of pewter metal. A few brass and silver examples are extant and are exceedingly rare.