A California coin collector and dealer shelled out $2.5 million for a rare penny at a recent Florida auction last week, a purchase he says is worth every cent.
Kevin Lipton, of Beverly Hills, dropped a cool $2.5 million last Thursday at auction for a rare, Birch Cent penny from 1792. Lipton told the New York Daily News it's a crown jewel among American coins.
"This coin is one of the greatest, I'd say, top 10 American coins in existence," the collector, who owns Kevin Lipton Rare Coins, told the newspaper. "It's great from a rarity standpoint and a historical standpoint. It's the birth of our coinage."
Lipton purchased the penny, named after the designer Robert Birch, at Orlando-based Heritage Auctions. He said the 223-year-old penny is one of the first models of American coins, with "United States of America" engraved around the back border along with "One Cent" in the center.
An image of George Washington was considered for the front but Congress went with "Liberty" instead, according to the Daily News.
Though it's the most the 55-year-old ever spent on a coin, it's still less than what he expected the penny would sell for at auction. The collector said he got the coin for a bargain.
"I wasn't buying it in the heat of an auction," Lipton told the newspaper. "I was buying it for value."
The last owner of the Birch Cent was New York collector Donald G. Patrick, who bought it for $200,000 in 1981 at Heritage Auctions. Lipton was also there, but he said his then 22-year-old self did not appreciate the value of the coin. Now he has come full circle.
"I didn't understand coins like that back then" said Lipton, who is expecting his coin to be delivered next week. "Now I understand the greatest American coins are the ones that represent where we started."
