An incredibly rare silver coin from colonial America has sold for a staggering $2.52 million.
The coin, known as the Boston Threepence, was discovered eight years ago tucked away in the back of an old cabinet in Amsterdam.
Minted in 1652 in Boston, the coin presents history more than a century before the Thirteen Colonies declared their independence from Britain.
Made before the American Revolution, the small silver coin is roughly the size of a nickel and technically has a silver value of just $1.03.
Advert
But its historical significance as one of the first coins ever minted in America makes it priceless to collectors.
The coin is marked with 'NE' for New England on one side, and Roman numerals indicating its value on the other, hence the name.
Very few of these coins have survived to the present day, which explains the eye-watering price of over $2.5 million.
Advert
Only two known examples of the Boston Threepence exist. One is housed in the Massachusetts Historical Society, making this newly discovered coin the only one available to private collectors.
Collectors engaged in a heated 12-minute bidding war before the hammer came down on the record-setting price.
Ben Orooji, a numismatist at Stack’s Bowers Galleries, called the night 'an exhilarating ride and a career highlight,' according to a statement from the auction house.
“Lots of coins get called important,” said John Kraljevich, Stack’s Bowers Galleries Director of Numismatic Americana, in another statement.
Advert
“It’s hard to imagine anything more important than the discovery of a famous rarity, part of the first series of American coins ever made, that actually allows a collector to own a previously unobtainable type.”
In fact, the coin’s staggering sale price set a new record for an American coin made before the Revolution, highlighting just how special this coin really is.
“As the very first American coins, NE shillings, sixpence, and threepence see a high level of demand and sell for dramatically high prices to well-heeled, historically minded collectors,” added Stack’s Bowers Galleries Vice President Vicken Yegparian.
Advert
The coin is distinguished by its NE marking, standing for New England, on one side. And the other side with Roman numerals which reflect its value. The threepence had three Roman numeral markings.
Defying the British crown’s authority in producing its own coins, the Boston Mint workers began producing coins shortly after the mint’s establishment.
It marked a 'growing sense of identity as separate from the mother country and its determination to regulate its own economy,' according to the Massachusetts Historical Society.