Brasher Doubloon copy sold at Stacks

DCW

Recently, a 19th Century copy of a Brasher Doubloon sold at Stacks for nearly four thousand dollars!

The term "copy" is sometimes a dirty word in numismatics, but not in this instance.
In the late 1850s, wealthy Connecticut banker Alfred S. Robinson commissioned several diesinkers to strike a series of imitations of U.S. Colonial coinage. Among those diesinker was Joseph H. Merriam of Boston, who struck this Brasher Doubloon copy to satisfy collector interest.
Interestingly, a copper example also sold for $329 in 2016 at the same venue:

Well, as is often said in exonumia, "anything goes." Someone really wanted this piece last week. I think 1500-2000 would have been more realistic.
Merriam is said to have struck 25 examples in copper and 25 in brass, but undoubtedly far fewer have survived.
My examples are below:
Brasher Doubloon Robinson Copy, Copper, PCGS MS64 Ex. John J Ford, ex @Floridafacelifter

Brasher Doubloon Robinson Copy, Brass, PCGS MS65

Thanks for looking

jmlanzaf

And this is better than a BTC token because...???

golden

Not for me.

jacrispies

Neat nonetheless! Thanks for laying out the information

DCW

@jmlanzaf said:
And this is better than a BTC token because...???

It's 165 years old and struck by a very famous Civil War die sinker, Joseph H. Merriam for a prominent numismatist of the day. There's history there. There's art.
I suspect you are being facetious, but what do you see in this, besides money?

jmlanzaf

@DCW said:

@jmlanzaf said:
And this is better than a BTC token because...???

It's 165 years old and struck by a very famous Civil War die sinker, Joseph H. Merriam for a prominent numismatist of the day. There's history there. There's art.
I suspect you are being facetious, but what do you see in this, besides money?

I'm largely being facetious. However, it is part of modern history. People can't seem to let go of their irrational hatred of crypto for long enough to see it as a scarce piece of exonumia. It's okay to collect Chuck E Cheese tokens but not physical crypto tokens?

RobertScotLover

Can anyone here find another example of these that is currently for sale?

jmlanzaf

@RobertScotLover said:
Can anyone here find another example of these that is currently for sale?

They are fairly scarce with 25 or fewer known.

Namvet69

I think Merriam showcased his talent well. Do we know if Robinson had a coin cabinet?

DCW

@Namvet69 said:
I think Merriam showcased his talent well. Do we know if Robinson had a coin cabinet?

Robinson was a pretty famous collector in his day. He advertised in newspapers to expand his collection, and he acquired many rarities that way. I remember reading a contemporary article about him paying $50 for a Higley Copper.

As for Merriam, he was the leader die sinker in Boston during the War of the Rebellion. His work knew no equal there, and he struck the most popular of all Civil War Tokens in 1863:

Some of his other work:

Robinson had three other Colonial copies made by Merriam:
The George Clinton Cent:

The Rosa Americana

And the Elephant God Save New England:

Bikergeek

@DCW - as a resident of Merriam, Kansas, I'm going to be saving some of these images! I also want to say I appreciate the post, and learning about the art and the artist.

Namvet69

Thanks for the pics!

DCW

@Namvet69 said:
Thanks for the pics!

You're welcome. As many online this forum know, I'm writing a book on Merriam. Hopefully done soon

JazzmanJAB

Here is the version I got in 2014.

DCW

@Bikergeek said:
@DCW - as a resident of Merriam, Kansas, I'm going to be saving some of these images! I also want to say I appreciate the post, and learning about the art and the artist.

Thank you.
In my searches, I came across this which you may like: (It's not mine and I have no connection to the seller.)

Merriam, Kansas fireman's helmet:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/276721054423?_skw=Merriam&itmmeta=01JDMN7BWEM77NT8D9JCKSSDHM&hash=item406ddc32d7:g:Jd4AAOSw6a5nBdbw&itmprp=enc:AQAJAAAAwHoV3kP08IDx+KZ9MfhVJKmTPhD/v9OjJpX43bJogWS+0neb4ZOs3aEU3aGJtEAkvwZQl/w80rdlI5trY8fTm60gOYm79hCjCO0/ikxUziVlZaLTzk4gSCFhL3/qz+kpGPPeqULsgoNnqGTumaqVfqHQxMqR/XlDvHuWB2N9JeeHuzbrEls6wuawiIaUqYupSs8+jBL8byzska3NXcgv/wAkmot4wL5A8WJt0YyeRwas3/PFzmrrGxIbMg00XKl5Pw==|tkp:Bk9SR6y-nZXtZA

Bikergeek

@DCW, that's pretty interesting, and I appreciate your sharing it. A little rich for my blood. This seller (who may be someone I run into at the grocery store - they are close by!) is a little proud of their merch. But they have a sense of humor too. Like this listing for a broken phone:

Pnies20

@Bikergeek said:
@DCW, that's pretty interesting, and I appreciate your sharing it. A little rich for my blood. This seller (who may be someone I run into at the grocery store - they are close by!) is a little proud of their merch. But they have a sense of humor too. Like this listing for a broken phone:

I hope you noticed the number he typed in 🤣

Bikergeek

@Pnies20 said:

I hope you noticed the number he typed in 🤣

Yuppers, that's why I think he's (and you know it's a guy) got a sense of humor. We used to do 4+57734 and turn the calculator upside down. Then after reading the first word, hit the equals sign to reveal the second word.

Technology can be fun!

Pnies20

@Bikergeek said:

@Pnies20 said:

I hope you noticed the number he typed in 🤣

Yuppers, that's why I think he's (and you know it's a guy) got a sense of humor. We used to do 4+57734 and turn the calculator upside down. Then after reading the first word, hit the equals sign to reveal the second word.

Technology can be fun!

Project Numismatics

@DCW said:

@Namvet69 said:
Thanks for the pics!

You're welcome. As many online this forum know, I'm writing a book on Merriam. Hopefully done soon

Looking forward to the book! Please keep us posted!