By Annette Espinoza
Denver Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Check these out: a Brasher doubloon struck nearly 220 years ago; 10 1933 Double Eagles; a silver dollar struck 212 years ago; and the first public unveiling of a rare gold coin owned by the Denver Mint.
All these valuables and more will be exhibited when the World's Fair of Money comes to the Colorado Convention Center this week.
"These are the holy grails of numismatists," said Steven Contursi, president of Rare Coin Wholesalers of California. Contursi owns the Brasher gold coin, struck in 1787 by Ephraim Brasher, a New York City neighbor of George Washington. The coin, the first to be made in the U.S., is insured for $6 million.
Contursi also owns a 1794 silver dollar that will be displayed.
Contursi said he enlisted the help of top numismatists from across the country who did "numismatic detective" work tracing the silver dollar's history. The group concluded that the coin is "most likely" the actual first coin struck by the U.S. Mint. It's insured for $10 million.
"To me, it's priceless," Contursi said.
He said he started collecting coins as a child in the 1950s when he was a newspaper boy in New York City because "I was intrigued by dates on pennies."
He said coin collecting is a passion of his and even "sometimes addicting."
The coin, paper money, token and medal exhibit by the U.S. Treasury Department is free and is sponsored by the American Numismatic Association.
This year's fair will feature first-ever public displays of rare and valuable coins and currency. Visitors can see 10 1933 Double Eagles, the gold coins that were illegally removed from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia more than 70 years ago. In 2004, they were recovered by the U.S. Secret Service and have been kept under tight security at Fort Knox.
The Denver Mint will feature a rare, mint-condition 1927-D (Denver) Double Eagle, a gold piece that was made in town but hasn't been here for 79 years. The coin is owned by an anonymous collector who purchased it for $2 million, organizers said. Another first visit is the Smithsonian's National Numismatic Collection called "Frontier Gold." The traveling exhibit features silver and gold coins and ingots made in California, Colorado and Nevada in the mid- 1800s.
The World's Fair of Money last visited Colorado 10 years ago. The exhibit runs Wednesday through Saturday and also features hundreds of coin dealers selling just about everything related to coins. Professional numismatists will offer free informal coin appraisals. Coin aficionados can buy, sell or trade old coins and currency, and educational seminars and lectures on the history of coins and currency will be offered. A treasure hunt trivia game will be available for children.
Organizers anticipate that more than 16,000 people from all across the country and abroad will visit the exhibit.
"It attracts people who have an interest in coins or the history of money," said Jay Beeton, a spokesman for the American Numismatic Association.
For more information, call ANA at 719-499-3591 or go to money.org.
Staff writer Annette Espinoza can be reached at 303-820-1655 or aespinoza@denverpost.com