Rare 1793 Penny Sold for Record $1.38 Million at U.S. Auction

A one-cent copper coin minted in 1793 - the year in which the newly-independent United States of America first began minting its own currency - has fetched a record $1.36 million at a Florida auction.

The coin was, reportedly, in good condition and displayed little sign of wear, either on the lettering or the 13 linking rings on the back of the inscription of Lady Liberty's face.

According to reports by the Orlando Sentinel, the final bid was by an unknown buyer. The sale is regarded as the biggest at the Florida United Numismatists Coin Show and annual convention.

The show, with nearly 600 dealers, is the largest in the country, according to Cindy Wibker, the convention's coordinator, who was quoted in a Florida newspaper.

Interestingly, according to Heritage Auctions, one of the earliest owners of the coin was a Baltimore-based banker named Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. The banker, before his death in 1976, assembled his entire coin collection, which included at least one example of every coin ever produced by the U.S. Mint.

Meanwhile, James Halperin, of Texas-based Heritage Auctions, told Associated Press that apart from the 1793 coin, a five-dollar gold piece from 1829 was also sold. Halperin further said there remained a few hundred 1793 coins in different condition but the one auctioned on Wednesday night was rare because it wasn't in circulation.