Rare 18th century coin found in toffee tin fetches £25k at Cotswolds auction

A rare 18th century coin found at the bottom of a toffee tin in the Cotswolds has sold at auction for £25,000.

The item is known as a Continental Dollar and was minted in 1776 - the year of the United States of America’s Declaration of Independence.

It’s thought around 6,000 were made, but only 100 are left.

The coin was estimated to fetch at least £20,000 at auction and went under the hammer at Wotton Auction Rooms on Thursday 3 October for £25,000.

Joseph Trinder, auctioneer in Wotton-under-Edge, said: “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.

“We discovered it in a large toffee tin a private vendor brought to us, full of all manner of interesting sort of knick-knacks - other coins, little bits of jewellery, carved stone and fossils.

“We had a jolly good look through and made sure we got to the bottom of everything inside.

“There were some really interesting pieces like gold coins and some other valuable items but languishing at the bottom of this tin of treasures we found this amazing Continental Dollar coin.”

The coin was taken back to the United States to have its authenticity verified by the Numismatic Gauranty Company.

The intended purpose of the pewter piece is unknown, and it’s inconclusive whether it was originally made as a coin or a medal.

The currency is traditionally regarded as the first series of American Dollar coins.

Joseph said: “To think this is a coin that dates back to the year of independence, and to have it found in the UK is unique.

"We haven’t been able to find a record of another example found here in Blighty.”