One of four known existing 1776 silver Continental Dollars was sold at auction May 16th and set a new record.
Continental Dollars are considered to be the earliest coins struck after the United States declared independence from Britain. Some speculate that they were created to replace paper dollars. The most commonly seen today are pewter, and some in brass. Silver was in short supply at the time of the revolution, and only three of the four coins show signs of circulation, leading some to assume that Congress intended to replace the pewter coins with silver when it became more available.
The coin sold is the only uncirculated piece known to currently exist and was given an MS-63 rating by NGC. It was sold for $1.41 million.
Courtesy of Coin Update