Extremely Rare 17th Century Coin Owned by Founding Father John Adams' Family Sells for $2.52 Million

The silver threepence coin, minted in 1652, set a new world record for a coin auction on Monday.

A silver threepence coin minted in 1652 and owned by Founding Father John Adams' family has sold for $2.52 million, setting a new world record for a coin auction on Monday.

The tiny coin, one of only two known to exist, was minted in pre-Revolution Boston.

It weighs just 1.1 gram and has a silver value of just over $1 on today's market.

The threepence was made within weeks of the first mint being opened in what would later become the United States.

It was surprisingly discovered in an old cabinet in Amsterdam in 2016 and came to Stack's Bowers Galleries' for verification in 2020.

"We haven't been able to trace its history entirely. It came literally out of the woodwork in 2016 and to us in 2020," Vicken Yegparian, vice president of Numismatics at Stack's Bowers Galleries, told DailyMail.com.

"It came with some provenance that it had come from the Quincy family and then to a collector in the 1790's," Yegparian explained.

The Quincy family of Boston included First Lady Abigail Adams, who was married to Founding Father and second President of the United States John Adams. Their son John Quincy Adams also later went on to be President.

"There aren't too many coins that can trace provenance back that far and the Adams family were collectors of coins," Yegparian said.

Although the individual buyer has not been named, it is a private collector, not a museum or organization that now owns the coin.

The only other coin of its kind has been in the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society for 120 years.

Auctioneer Ben Orooji, who called the 12-minute bidding battle in California, said the sale was "an exhilarating ride and a career highlight."

The coin eventually sold for more than three times the in-house estimate.

"One can never predict where major rarity auctions will go," Yegparian told DailyMail.com.

"Firstly it is a foundational coin in American numismatics. For colonial coin collectors, New England coinage is like the king."

"The oldest coin history in America is 1652, and this is it."

There are now fewer than 100 New England coins in private hands and museums.

For collectors of American antiques and historic items this is the era that brings in the highest prices at auctions, Yegparian said.

Another reason the price was so far above the estimate is that prospective buyers tend to keep their cards close to their chest to avoid revealing how much they are willing to pay for an item ahead of an auction.

Coin collecting saw an uptick in interest while everyone was stuck at home during the pandemic and the enthusiasm hasn't waned, Yegparian explained.

Years of inflation and an uptick in gold and silver markets has also drawn attention to collecting as an investment.

"Some people just want to buy precious metal and others get interested in rare coins," Yegparian said.

"People are trying to diversify their portfolio outside more standard investments.

"The whole fabric of collecting has changed in the last few decades. It's more focused on rarity and quality now."