An incredibly rare American coin from the year of the Declaration of Independence found in a toffee tin has sold for $32,000 in the UK.
Known as a Continental Dollar, the coin, measuring 38 millimeters (approx. 1.49 inches) across and made of pewter, was minted in 1776.
It had a limited production run with around 6,000 specimens believed to have been minted in all and as few as 100 thought to remain.
The coin had to be sent to the United States to be appraised due to its rarity and the number of fakes in existence. Its authenticity was verified by coin-grading experts at the Numismatic Guaranty Company in Sarasota, Florida.
On Oct. 3, it sold for a whopping 25,000 pounds ($32,000) at an auction by Wotton Auction Rooms in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, UK.
Auctioneer Joseph Trinder explained that the valuable coin was discovered in a large toffee tin brought by a private vendor.
“This coin represents a discovery that is in the top five of my career, to date, and the sort of thing every auctioneer up and down the country hopes they’ll find,” Trinder said.
“We discovered it in a large toffee tin a private vendor brought to us, full of all manner of interesting sorts of knick-knacks—other coins, little bits of jewelry, carved stone, and fossils.
“We had a jolly good look through and made sure we got to the bottom of everything inside.
“There were some really interesting pieces like gold coins and some other valuable items, but languishing at the bottom of this tin of treasures, we found this amazing Continental Dollar coin.”
