The 1792 Half Disme Donated by Steven Contursi, valued at $250,000, was on display at the ANA Money Show Atlanta. In December 2011, Steven Contursi donated the coin to the ANA museum as his way of giving back to an association that he has always believed in. The ANA’s collection originally featured a 1792 half disme, graded extremely fine, but the coin was stolen from the collection. Steve Contursi donated his 1792 half disme, graded AU58, which was featured at the Atlanta Money Show.

The legendary Brasher Doubloon, made in 1787 by George Washington's New York City neighbor, has been sold for a record price by Steven L. Contursi, President of Rare Coin Wholesalers in Irvine, California. A Wall Street investment company subsequently paid nearly $7.4 million for the historic gold coin.

The legendary Brasher Doubloon, made in 1787 by George Washington's New York City neighbor, has been sold for a record price by Steven L. Contursi, President of Rare Coin Wholesalers in Irvine, California.

A record price of $1.5 million has been set by a private treaty sale of a rainbow-toned 1792 half disme, graded NGC MS-68.

The first U.S. gold coin, hand-struck in 1787 by a goldsmith who was George Washington's neighbor and called the single most important coin in American numismatics, was purchased for $2.9 million last month by Steven L. Contursi, a rare coin broker from Laguna Beach.

Emphasizing confidence in the current numismatic market, Rare Coin Wholesalers of Dana Point, California (www.rcw1.com) made nearly $1.6 million of the winning bids, virtually 30 percent of the total, in the $5.3 million Bowers and Merena Auction sale in Las Vegas, October 29.