A dollar could be worth a lot more than that – as a rare 1776 continental dollar coin is set to be auctioned next month.
Wotton Auction Rooms told CBS News in an email that one of its clients brought their collection to sell and that the hall contained many items from the 18th and 19th centuries. Auctioneers for the Gloucestershire, England-based auction house were sorting through hundreds of pieces that had been brought in toffee tins when they found a coin near the bottom. The auction house said that initially the coin looked very dull and boring.
“It was one of the last objects to check. “Once the work started, we thought there were chances that it could be a copy, although everything else inside the tin was genuine and of a very good standard,” Wotton Auction Rooms said.
The auction house sent the coin to NGC Coin Guarantee Company for authentication — and the results confirmed the coin’s authenticity, Wotton Auction Rooms said.
The continental dollar was the first pattern coin for the United States. Believed to have been designed by Benjamin Franklin, the concepts of the continental dollar were translated into coins by New York engraver Elisha Gallaudet. Gallaudet was believed to have minted them at a temporary private mint in New Jersey, Smithsonian Museum saidand coins were issued in silver and pewter.
Silver versions of the coins are extremely rare and only two are known to exist Professional coin grading serviceA rare coin grading company. PCGS stated that about 20 pewter Continental dollars exist in mint condition. In 2008, a pewter was the continental dollar Auctioned for a record price of $264,500. In 2015, a silver continental dollar was auctioned for a record $1,527,500.
The recently discovered coin will be auctioned on October 3, the auction house said, and is expected to fetch between £20,000 (about $26,360) and £30,000 (about $39,540).
Cara Tabachnick is news editor at CBSNews.com. Cara began her career on the crime beat at Newsday. She has written for Marie Claire, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. She reports on justice and human rights issues. Contact her at [email protected]
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