'Forgotten' Franklin-designed coin sells for big bucks after being found in unusual location

close

Video

Rare 2000-year-old coin found in Israel

A rare half-shekel silver coin from Year One of the First Jewish Revolt against the Romans, was discovered in the Judean Desert (Credit: Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority)

An auction house in the United Kingdom recently sold one of America's oldest coins for a hefty price.

The coin, which was found at the bottom of a toffee tin, went under the hammer on Oct. 3. The artifact was sold by Wotton Auction Rooms, an auction house based in Cotswolds, England. 

The coin is a Continental Currency dollar that was minted in 1776, making it one of the United States' earliest coins. Wotton Auction House told Fox News Digital that it sold for 25,000 pounds – equal to over $32,000 American dollars – to a private American collector.

The outer layer of the pewter coin reads "Continental Currency 1776," and was designed by Benjamin Franklin. The center of the coin depicts the sun and a sundial, along with the words: "Mind your business."

MYSTERIOUS GRAVESTONE IN VIRGINIA REVEALS 400-YEAR-OLD SECRETS: ARCHAEOLOGISTS

A rare Continental dollar coin from 1776 sold for an eye-popping sum after being found in an old tin. (iStock / SWNS)

According to Wotton Auction Rooms' website, the coin was "forgotten about" and found in a tin with a number of other trinkets.

"This example is understood to be totally fresh to the market, having been recently discovered in a local property, unearthed from an old toffee tin containing a collection of jewelry, objet d’art and curiosities, believed to have been sealed and essentially forgotten about for decades," the site describes.

Auctioneer Joseph Trinder told Fox News Digital that it is still unclear how long the coin was in the tin before it was found.

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.

"We are uncertain of how long it had been in the tin for – at least several decades," Trinder said. "It had been sealed up and seemingly forgotten about util the owner came across it again and decided to bring it to us for a closer look." 

Trinder told SWNS that only 6,000 of the coins were minted at the time. He predicts that roughly 100 of the 1776 Continental dollars are still around today.

DIVERS FIND 130-YEAR-OLD SHIPWRECK WITH INTRIGUING PAST HIDDEN IN LAKE MICHIGAN

The 1776 continental dollar sold for over $32,000. (SWNS)

"This coin represents a discovery that is in the top five of my career to date, and the sort of thing every auctioneer up and down the country hopes they’ll find," he remarked.

The antiques specialist added that the coin was recently shipped to the United States to be authenticated. After a series of tests, experts determined that it was indeed genuine.

"It was examined by a committee of specialists and X-rayed and put through other scientific tests, and we were delighted to receive a notification to tell us that it is genuine," Trinder explained to SWNS in September.

"To think this is a coin that dates back to the year of [America's] independence, and to have it found in the U.K., is unique," he added.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

Joseph Trinder, auctioneer and managing director of Wotton Auction Rooms, said the coin is truly a rare find. (SWNS)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital reached out to Wotton Auction Rooms for additional comment.

Fox News Digital's Brittany Kasko contributed to this report.