Business

Friday night, visitors of the Heritage Auction Galleries in Californian Long Beach became eye witnesses of an incredible 'bidding war' between the major US coin collectors. They were offering hundreds of thousands of dollars to gain the yet most valued penny collection.The collection of 301 cents features some of the rarest and earliest examples of the American penny. It is an acquisition of coins that are attractive and pleasant representatives with exceptional pedigrees. presents a major hurdle across a wide range of dates in the large cent field.One of the most significant and rare pieces was a cent minted at the newly opened Philadelphia Mint in 1793 for two weeks, but then it was abandoned, because Congress said Lady Liberty looked frightened. This historical coin, a collector's treasure, added the biggest value to the whole collection, which was finally sold for 10.7 million dollars.The collection includes nearly every Sheldon die variety in the 1793-1814 series, including many Mint State pieces and numerous Condition Census examples.Heritage Auction president Greg Rohan said the auction was the biggest ever for a penny collection, with hundreds of bidders vying for the coins. The presale value of the collection was estimated at about $7 million."It was a fabulous night," Rohan said. "Every major coin collector of American cents was either there in person, bidding online or on the telephone."The collection had been in ownership of Walter J. Husak, who started collecting the coins when he was 13. In summer seasons, he was working on a farm to help his grandmother, and started to buy different old coins, some of which he later sold to a local coin shop.