diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index 564cb2ed..343b6c57 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -279,8 +279,8 @@ function parse (args, opts) {
   setConfig(argv)
   setConfigObjects()
   applyEnvVars(argv, false)
-  applyCoercions(argv)
   applyDefaultsAndAliases(argv, flags.aliases, defaults)
+  applyCoercions(argv)
 
   // for any counts either not in args or without an explicit default, set to 0
   Object.keys(flags.counts).forEach(function (key) {
diff --git a/test/yargs-parser.js b/test/yargs-parser.js
index dac993c9..c2f5f51f 100644
--- a/test/yargs-parser.js
+++ b/test/yargs-parser.js
@@ -1992,6 +1992,18 @@ describe('yargs-parser', function () {
       parsed.foo.bar.should.equal('nananana, batman!')
     })
 
+    it('applies coercion to defaults', function () {
+      var parsed = parser([], {
+        default: { foo: 'bar' },
+        coerce: {
+          foo: function (val) {
+            return val.toUpperCase()
+          }
+        }
+      })
+      parsed.foo.should.equal('BAR')
+    })
+
     it('applies coercion function to an implicit array', function () {
       var parsed = parser(['--foo', '99', '-f', '33'], {
         coerce: {