Brasher $2 gold
carabonnair
Posts: 1,455 ✭✭✭✭✭
It's been interesting and informative to watch this lot for the last week. Regulated gold coins don't come up for auction that often, so I was surprised to see one appear on ebay.
It was mis-identified as an 8 escudo, and then again as a 2 escudo. 3.4 grams makes it closer to a 1 escudo, but it is actually a Portuguese 1600 Reis (perhaps from Brazil, but the mintmark is covered). The EB counterstamp, of course, is the renowned Ephraim Brasher. The F&G plug is from Lewis Feuter and his partner, a loyalist who worked in New York during the British occupation prior to 1784. The hole could mean it circulated in the West Indies for a time afterward.
There is one other Brasher 1600 Reis known, without the F&G plug and hole - https://coins.ha.com/itm/colonials/brazil-1600-reis-1-escudo-1727m-fine-to-vf-with-minor-surface-problems/a/360-30013.s The small denominations seem to be a lot less common than the Half Joe ($8) or doubloons ($15-$16)
I threw in a couple bargain-hunting bids, but didn't think I had a chance with so many watchers. Just to make sure I didn't cry if it went way too cheap... Someone else got it for the final price $10,665.
I also came across this informative article
https://www.sedwickcoins.com/ta23/intro_to_regulated_gold.pdf
Comments
Very interesting; thanks for posting this.
One grading company certified a bunch of fake "EB" C/S coins. I've only had two genuine "EB" coins in hand back in the 1970's. I wouldn't touch the image of this piece with a kitchen mitt!
Yes, there was an earlier discussion here https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1007700/ngc-sues-city-gold-for-allegedly-counterfeiting-various-18th-c-countermarks-brasher-burger-etc
Pacific Northwest Numismatic Association
Thanks, I missed this post. They talked about these coins during a PNG counterfeit seminar in before the FUN Show.
Oops! Looks like I posted in this link a while back. I'll need to read it later. Some members who posted in that thread are now banned.
@carabonnair Now that is an interesting gold piece. Thanks for posting the pic and providing some historical context.
That is quite the gold coin.... not one I would purchase, but always like old gold... That one is just to beat up for me. Cheers, RickO