BALTIMORE, MD.- They say a penny saved is a penny earned. Well how about saving a penny and earning $1 million? Numismatic auction house Stack’s Bowers Galleries is presenting the very first American cent at the Whitman Expo in Baltimore, Oct. 24-26, 2018. Known as the 1792 Birch Cent, this particular cent is estimated to be worth $1 million, 100 million times its original value. Talk about a pretty penny.

Only a handful of Birch Cents were minted as an example of what the newly-formed U.S. government was considering producing at the time. There were four Birch Cent varieties that were originally struck and this particular Birch Cent, classified as Judd-3, is the only one known to exist without lettering on its edge. It has not been sold in more than 40 years.

The Birch cents and a small handful of other varieties were actually commissioned by Thomas Jefferson and were seen first hand by Jefferson and George Washington. In fact, Washington was supposed to speak about them to Congress in the fall of 1792, but his speech writer at the time, Alexander Hamilton, inexplicably omitted them, mentioning only the silver half dismes (i.e. 5 cent pieces) that had been produced in much greater quantity than the cents.

“This is the first American cent ever produced and represents a very unique piece of numismatic history,” said Brian Kendrella, President of Stack’s Bowers Galleries. “It is the only one of its kind, making it a very exclusive coin to own. The collector who ends up with this Birch Cent will have the satisfaction of knowing that it very likely was held by our founding fathers, making it a very special piece of American history as well.”