A stunning example of the 1792 one cent coin, the first produced by the US Mint, has sold at Heritage Auctions' September 4-6 Long Beach Expo US Coins Signature Auction.
 The 1792 cent sold well, yet didn't reach the record price achieved at Heritage in August |
Known as the "Silver Centre" cent, the coin was the first produced within the walls of the newly established United States Mint and is one of the most famous coins among numismatists. With this example graded MS61+, it sold for $705,000.
However, the record for the coin is held by an MS64 graded example that sold for $1.9m at Heritage Auctions last month.
The piece features a silver plug at the centre, which was added due to legislation that stated the metal in a coin should match its value.
 The 1796 quarter is one of the first ever struck in the United States |
Also featuring was a quarter coin from 1796, which was described as "prooflike" and is believed to have been one of the first quarters ever struck in the US. Selling for $411,250, it was struck from perfect dies, and was therefore likely to have been produced as a presentation copy.
"This boldly defined Gem is one of the finest existing 1796 quarters. Steel, russet, and sea-green toning enhances the underlying deep golden appearance…" Heritage said of the coin.
It could not compete with the record price for a 1796 quarter, however, which was set by the finest known example at $1.5m in Heritage Auctions' sale of the Eric P Newman collection in November 2013.
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