Turns out a penny saved is a penny earned -- and then some.
One of the earliest dated coins created at the United States Mint was purchased Thursday for $1.15 million in a public auction in Schaumburg, according to officials Heritage Auctions of Dallas, Texas.
The 1792 copper penny is only one of 14 surviving silver-center cents. The coin features a small silver plug in the center and a portrait symbolic of “Miss Liberty.” Inscribed is the phrase “Liberty Parent of Science & Industry.”
“The coin was sold to a dealer from Southern California, Mr. Kevin Lipton, who was representing a group of investors,” said Heritage Auctions executive vice president Todd Imhof in a statement.
A coin exactly like the one sold collected $105,000 in the 1974 auction.
The coin was one of the highlights of the auction of rare coins and paper money, and Heritage officials estimate the sale will generate about $20 million in winning bids by the end of the event on Saturday.
