A rare gold coin that was originally worth $ 20 sold at Sotheby’s Auction House in New York for a whopping $ 18.9 million.
The “Double Eagle” coin is one of the last gold coins ever minted for circulation in the United States and one of the few to survive destruction.
Now the most valuable coin ever to be auctioned, the 1933 “Double Eagle” doubled the previous world record after selling for nearly $ 19 million.
The 1933 “Double Eagle” never entered circulation, and as a result nearly all of them were returned to the US government to be melted down.
Only a few select pieces have been kept with a small number entering the market, although only one is allowed to be legally owned.
In 1944, the Secret Service declared that if any of the “Double Eagle” coins were found in circulation or in the possession of a collector, it would be considered stolen, according to Sotheby’s.
Following a legal battle between the US Treasury and a former owner, it was decided that one of the “Double Eagle” coins could be legally owned by an individual.
With freedom on one side and a flying eagle on the other, the gold coin was put up for sale by shoe designer Stuart Weitzman, according to CNN.
Mr Weitzman also sold a stamp from a former British colony for $ 8.3 million and a sheet of US postage stamps printed with a single error for $ 4.9 million.
In a press release, Mr. Weitzman said it was “an honor to be the custodian of these three legendary treasures”.
He explained that he started collecting coins to “pass the time in a full cast at the age of 12, and then became interested in stamps when [his] older brother left behind the stamp book he started when he went to college.
The proceeds from its sales will go to a number of charitable and educational causes that are “near and dear” to the collector.