Unusual coin found lying in toffee tin sells for £25,000

Known as a Continental Dollar, the coin was minted in 1776 and measures 38mm across

An incredibly rare American coin from the year of the Declaration of Independence, stashed away in a toffee tin, has fetched £25,000 at auction.

The Continental Dollar, measuring 38mm across and made of pewter, was struck in 1776, and with only about 6,000 originally minted and a scant 100 believed to survive, its rarity is unquestionable.

Due to numerous counterfeits and its scarce nature, the piece had to be authenticated Stateside before being snapped up for a hefty sum at Wotton Auction Rooms in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire.

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Detailing the find, auctioneer Joseph Trinder revealed that it was unearthed among an assortment of items in a large toffee tin presented by a private seller.

"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 expressed.

"We discovered it in a large toffee tin a private vendor brought to us, full of all manner of interesting sorts 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 shipped back to America due to its potential value, where it was authenticated by the Numismatic Guaranty Company, a group of coin grading experts.