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Mysterious rare coin sold by three sisters for $500 thousand

Posted on by Dimeks
Mysterious rare coin sold by three sisters for 0 thousand

By Alice Wright for Dailymail.Com

Publication date: | Updated:

A rare coin that had been hidden for decades sold at auction for half a million dollars; But Americans are unlikely to find similar money in their wallets.

The coin, struck in 1975 by the US Mint in San Francisco, is one of only two coins known to exist that are missing the ‘S’ for the city.

The other sold at auction for $456,000 in 2019, and again to a private collector days later for $516,000. AP News reported.

Ian Russell, president of GreatCollections and the expert who led the sale, announced that the cryptocurrency sold for $506,250 in an online auction last month.

Mysterious rare coin sold by three sisters for 0 thousand

The coin, struck in 1975 by the US Mint in San Francisco, is one of only two coins known to exist that are missing the ‘S’ for San Francisco.

Although coin collectors knew of the existence of these two rare coins, their whereabouts had remained a mystery since the late 1970s.

In 1975 the mint in San Francisco produced over 2.8 million uncirculated ‘proof’ sets of six coins, sold for $7.

A few years later collectors noticed that two pennies in the set were missing the ‘S’ sign.

Three Ohio sisters inherited one of the rare coins after the recent death of their older brother, which had been stored in a bank vault for more than 40 years, Russell told AP News.

The sisters, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that their brother and mother bought the coin for $18,200 in 1978, which is around $90,000 today.

They told Russell that his parents, who ran a dairy farm, viewed the money as a financial safety net.

Coin sold at auction for $506,250

Three Ohio sisters inherited rare pennies after their brother's recent death

Three Ohio sisters inherited rare pennies after their brother’s recent death

Experts say that although there are likely to be more examples of rare coins, they are only found in 1975.

While more examples of rare coins are likely to be found, they can only be found in “evidence” sets from 1975 and not in your spare change, experts say

Ian Russell, president of GreatCollections, said although there was a possibility that more examples of the rare coins could be found, they could only be found among the 1975 'proof' sets.

Ian Russell, president of GreatCollections, said although there was a possibility that more examples of the rare coins could be found, they could only be found among the 1975 ‘proof’ sets.

Russell has bad news for those hoping to find a rare coin in his pocket.

Although it is possible that more examples of rare pennies may be found there, they can only be found among the 1975 ‘evidence’ sets.

‘If you have old rehearsal sets at home, perhaps your grandfather or father ordered them and forgot about them. If you have a 1975, check the dime,” Russell said.

Last year, Russell revealed to DailyMail.com the most valuable pieces he had ever sold at auction; these included a $12 million silver dollar and a set of Lincoln pennies that brought $7.7 million.

He became interested in rare currencies in his youth and currently sells up to 5,000 coins a week.