A 1787 New York Brasher Doubloon, one of the first gold coins to be struck in the United States, has been sold for more than $5 million (£3.5 million).

It was the work of Ephraim Brasher, a silversmith who lived next door to George Washington in New York City following the American War of Independence.

The Brasher Doubloon is one of only seven known to be in existence and is regarded to be in the best condition of those coins that remain.

On one side of the coin is the Great Seal of the United States, an eagle clutching an olive branch and arrows. Brasher’s hallmark – the letters EB - are inside an oval on the eagle’s right wing.

The reverse displays a version of the state of New York’s coat of arms, featuring a sun rising over a mountain peak and the sea surrounded by the words NOVA EBORACA COLUMBIA EXCELSIOR, which translates to “New York, America, Ever Higher.”