A copper “Birch Cent” minted in 1792, sold for US$1.175 million in Stacks Bowers Baltimore Auction. The birch penny from the Henry P. Kendall Foundation Collection is sold below the estimate value of US$2 million. The penny is one of the first pieces of U.S. currency ever minted, and it's one of just seven of this particular design that remain.
"The Birch cent is, simply, the first of a cultural phenomenon that is known the world over: it is the first American cent," read a description of the coin on the Stack's Bowers website.
Anonymous man from Texas bought the million dollar coin in Maryland on Thursday.
This is the second Birch Penny to be sold this year. The first penny was sold to a Beverly Hills rare coin dealer in January for $2.585 million at an auction in Florida and broke the record for the most expensive penny ever sold in auction. Read more about it here; World Most Expensive Penny-1792 Birch Cent.
Named for engraver Robert Birch, on one side of the copper coin is a portrait of a young woman with curly hair surrounded by the words “Liberty Parent of Science & Industry.”
On the coin reverse is a laurel wreath surrounds the words “One Cent,” and 1/100 underneath the wreath to make sure there is no confusion about the value of the currency.
The Birch cent has circulated through many auctions over the years. In 1890 it was sold for $85 and has since been owned by different collectors before making its way to Stack's Bowers in 1975.
