Two Famous Rare Coins Bring A Combined $7.87+ Million At Record-Breaker By Heritage Auctions In Orlando

1787 Brasher Gold Doubloon brings $4.58 million; 1913 Liberty Nickel, "The Hawaii Five-O Specimen" brings $3.29 million, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014; auction on track to be highest grossing of all time

DALLAS — Two of America's most famous and valuable rare coins brought more than $7.87 million combined when they sold at Heritage Auctions' Orlando, FL, rare U.S. coins event, Thursday night, Jan. 9, 2014. The coins were sold as part of an auction that has grossed more than $55 million so far and may be on track to break the all-time record (approximately $78 million in January 2007, also conducted by Heritage) for any numismatic auction.

The first gold coin made for the United States, a Brasher Doubloon hand-struck in 1787 by George Washington's New York City neighbor, brought $4,582,500, while a nickel made under mysterious circumstances at the Philadelphia Mint in 1913, and which was famously featured in an episode of the 1970s television show "Hawaii Five-O," realized $3,290,000.

"The legendary Brasher Doubloon is one of the most important coins in American history because it's the first gold coin struck for the young United States and it's one of only a handful that exist," said Todd Imhof, Executive Vice President of Heritage Auctions, "This is a record auction price for one of these historic, early American coins."

This particular Brasher Doubloon has been off the market since it was purchased by a Chicago resident in 1979 for a then-record price of $430,000. It was the subject of a Raymond Chandler book, a Hollywood movie and it was displayed by a previous owner at the 1964 World's Fair in New York City.

"The 1913 Liberty Head nickel is one of only five known," said Imhof, "and were struck under mysterious circumstances at the Philadelphia Mint. Their existence wasn't publicly revealed until 1920, when five of these coins were offered for sale by a man who used to work at the Mint."

One of the previous owners of the "Hawaii-Five-O" nickel was Jerry Buss, the late owner of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team who purchased this particular coin in 1985 and sold it in 1993. One of the other five known 1913 Liberty Head nickels is in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.