14 DAY TRIAL // The next time you offer somebody a penny for their thoughts, do make sure that the coin you're ready and willing to part with isn't one that was struck in 1792 and that shows Lady Liberty on one of its sides. Otherwise, chances are that you'll dearly regret it.
Not to beat about the bush, it was this past Thursday that one such coin, featured in the photo accompanying this article, sold for a nearly $2.6 million (almost €2.2 million) at an auction held in the city of Dallas in Texas, US.
More precisely, folks with Heritage Auctions, the auction house that organized the sale, say that the coin fetched an impressive $2,585,000 (€2,183,630). In case anyone was wondering, the penny was bought by a California man by the name Kevin Lipton.
Why would anyone pay a truckload of money for a penny?
As mentioned, the coin dates back to the year 1792. Historians say that it was struck only to test a design and that such pennies never made it into circulation. What this means is that the coin is insanely rare. In fact, it is estimated that just 10 such coins are now left in the world.
What's interesting is that, apparently, Kevin Lipton did not spend a truckload of money on this penny simply because he wanted to own a freakishly rare coin. On the contrary, the man insists that he bought the penny to be reminded of his country's history.
“It’s like our very first penny. It’s such a spectacular coin. It’s so important, so rare,” he said in a statement, as cited by DM. “The greatest American coins are the ones that represent where we started,” the 55-year-old California man added.
Kevin Lipton spent another small fortune on a second coin
As if being the proud owner of a 1792 penny worth way more than most people earn during an entire year of hard work weren't enough to make folks turn green with envy, it looks like, at the same auction, 55-year-old Kevin Lipton also got himself a freakishly expensive quarter.
This other coin was struck in the year 1792 as well and information shared with the public by auction house Heritage Auctions says that the man paid about $2.2 million (roughly €1.85 million). Otherwise out, this California man now has about $4.8 million (€4 million) worth of US history on his hands.