Laguna Beach Resident Steven L Contursi holds his $6 million gold coin in a scene from "The First American Coin."
The first gold coin struck in 1787 for the young United States, valued today at $6 million and owned by a Laguna Beach resident, is now the subject of a mini-documentary, “The First American Coins,” according to its producer.
The coin is the unique Brasher Doubloon owned by Steven L. Contursi, president of Rare Coin Wholesalers of Dana Point.
The video featuring Contursi and his coin was shot during last summer’s coin convention in Denver and was created by The Futures Channel, a Burbank-based producer of educational materials.
Contursi and coin consultant Jeff Ambio, both featured in the video, “turn the subjects of numismatics and coin-collecting into detective work and treasure hunting, with fascinating history tied in as well,” said Steve Heard, Futures Channel executive producer, who interviewed them for the documentary.
Brasher Doubloons were struck in 1787 by George Washington’s New York City neighbor, silversmith and well-known political figure of the day, Ephraim Brasher. Seven examples are known today with only one showing the designer’s initials, “EB,” punched across the breast of an eagle depicted on the coin. All other surviving examples have the initials on the eagle’s wing.
The coin was the subject of a 1942 Raymond Chandler detective novel, “The High Window,” and a subsequent 1947 movie, “The Brasher Doubloon,” based on Chandler’s novel.
The video can be found online at www.TheFuturesChannel.com and through the Rare Coin Wholesalers website, www.RCW1.com.