If there's a coin equivalent of the Honus Wagner baseball card - the Holy Grail for collectors - it's the celebrated Brasher doubloon, thefirst gold coin struck in the United States and one of the rarest in the world.

The doubloon was created in 1787 by silver and goldsmith Ephraim Brasher, whose clients included his neighbor, George Washington.

Just seven 1787 Brasher doubloons are known to exist. Chicago coin dealer Walter Perschke's was considered the finest.

"It was struck before the U.S. Mint even started operating in 1792," said Max Spiegel, vice president of sales and marketing for the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, which graded Mr. Perschke's doubloon for him.

The storied coin even figured in the 1947 Philip Marlowe film noir "The Brasher Doubloon."

It's a glowing beauty. One side is stamped with an eagle, its talons bearing an olive branch and arrows, signifying peace and power. Its right wing is imprinted with "EB," Brasher's initials. The flip side shows sunrise over mountains and the sea, symbolizing the nation's new beginnings, according to Spiegel.

When Mr. Perschke bought it for a world-record $430,000 in 1979, "It was a breathtaking event," said Jeff Bernberg of Willowbrook's Rarcoa (Rare Coin Company of the World).

Mr. Perschke, who died May 20 in Chicago of bladder cancer at age 77, talked about the doubloon's mystique in a 1987 Chicago Sun-Times interview.

In 1979, when he bought the Brasher doubloon, it made international headlines. It hadn't been up for auction for 57 years and had last sold in 1922 for $3,000 - a record at the time.

Mr. Perschke held onto the doubloon for 35 years before auctioning it off for $4.59 million.

Mr. Perschke's fascination with coins began as a student at Lane Tech High School on the North Side.

"His history teacher got him involved in a coin club," said another son, Adam, and he became the entrepreneur-owner of Numisco, a company that dealt in precious metals and coins.

He appeared often on TV on "Wall Street Week" and WCIU-Channel 26's "Ask an Expert."

"He was driven," Ian Perschke said of his father. "And he accomplished a lot."

After selling the doubloon, Mr. Perschke invested in something completely different: spirituality. He bought the Monthly Aspectarian magazine, renaming it Conscious Community. It promotes spirituality, body-mind health and higher consciousness. The July issue is dedicated to him, circulation manager Kasia Szumal said.

Mr. Perschke offered guided meditation and operated Spiritual Learning Center camps in Indiana, where participants were invited to "join us in a spiritual retreat of personal discovery," according to Facebook.

"His famous talks were about dream interpretation and visualizing success," Szumal said.

To read the complete article, see:
Coin dealer Walter Perschke, dead at 77, owned storied doubloon (http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/coin-dealer-walter-perschke-dead-at-77-owned-storied-doubloon/)

Walter was born on February 25th, 1939 in McHenry, Illinois to Walter and Marie Perschke. He attended high school at Lane Tech and received his undergraduate degree from The University of Chicago, where he ran track and was the president of his fraternity, Psi Upsilon. He was an internationally-renowned numismatic expert and businessman, known for acquiring storied coins such as the Brasher Doubloon and the American Quint. He was a finance columnist for Chicago Daily News, had his own Emmy-nominated TV show, Ask an Expert, and appeared regularly on PBS's Wall Street Week.

To read the complete obituary, see:
Walter Perschke (www.legacy.com/obituaries/chicagotribune/obituary.aspx?pid=180150059)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: AUGUST 21, 2011 (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n35a13.html)