Gold doubloon worth $16 more than two centuries ago expected to fetch at least $5 MILLION at auction

The coin was struck in 1787 by New York goldsmith Ephraim Brasher

It contains 26.66 grams of gold - worth $16 at the time and $400 today

Experts predict it could sell for far more than its estimated auction price



A 1794 one dollar coin sold for $10million in 2013 holds the current record



The first ever gold coin to be struck in the U.S. more than 225 years ago is expected to fetch at least $5 million at auction .



The gold doubloon was struck in 1787 and was the fledgling country's first ever coin intended for circulation in America's emerging colonies.



Prior to its launch, settlers used foreign copper and silver coins they had brought with them or coins they had forged themselves.



But only a handful of the gold doubloons were ever made and just seven exist worldwide today. The coin is estimated to sell for at least $5million when it goes under the hammer.

Going under the hammer: This gold doubloon struck in 1787 is expected to sell for five million at auction

But experts believe it could fetch far more, beating the $7.6 million dollars paid for a $20 coin from 1933 called a Double Eagle , making it the second most expensive coin in the world.

It could potentially even rival the $10 million world record set in January 2013 by the sale of a 1794 one dollar coin.

The gold doubloon contains 26.66 grams of gold - slightly less than an ounce - and was worth $16 at the time, around $400 today.



It was struck by New York goldsmith Ephraim Brasher, a neighbour to George Washington, and is being auctioned on behalf of coin expert Walter Perschke who bought it in 1979 for $430,000.



On one side it features the Great Seal of the United States - an eagle holding an olive branch in its talons - and the motto 'e pluribus unum' meaning 'out of many, one'.



On the reverse is a sunrise over a mountain with the words 'Nova Eboraca Columbia excelsior'.



Columbia was an early name for the United Sates, Nova Eboraca is Latin for New York and excelsior - 'even higher' - was its motto.

Worth more than its weight in gold: The coin contains 26.66 grams of gold which was worth $16 when it was made but is now worth $400

Mark Borckardt, an expert in currency from Heritage Auctions, said: 'The Brasher Doubloon is a wonderful piece with an incredible history.



'It is one of the most famous coins in existence and among the most valuable too.



'What makes it so special is that it was the first gold coin ever to be struck in the USA.



'At the time the coins used by the fledgling colonies were either foreign ones they had brought with them or copper and silver coins they produced themselves.



'There were no gold coins and that was something Congress wanted to rectify.



Top dollar: A Flowing Hair Silver Dollar, believed to have been the first silver dollar struck by the United States Mint, sold for slightly more than $10 million at a New York auction last January

'Ephraim Brasher, a goldsmith in New York City and a neighbour of George Washington, produced a small number of gold coins called doubloons worth 16 dollars face value.



'Only seven now survive, two of which are in museums, and of the remaining five this one is the finest example - it is like new.



'The seller is a prominent coin dealer who bought the doubloon the last time it came up for sale in 1979 and has treasured it ever since.



'It will be many years before a coin like this comes up for sale again and we expect the auction to be a momentous event.'