A rare $1 coin, minted in 1794, was sold for $1.2 million at an auction in Boston.

The auction was held Saturday at the Park Plaza Hotel and Towers. It was run by Bowers and Merena Auctions.

The silver dollar, which was one of the first silver dollar coins minted by the US, went to an anonymous bidder. It generated much excitement and anticipation from a lot of bidders, weeks before the actual bidding event.

In a statement released by Greg Roberts, CEO of Bowers and Merena Auctions, he said, “We started to see bidding activity about two weeks before the live action began with multiple bidders moving the coin from its opening bid to $750,000 where the lot opened on the live auction floor. It then quickly moved up $300,000 at increments of $50,000. when the bid hit $1 million on Saturday, the gasp from the crowd was riveting, and with two of the four bidders live in the room, the intensity was overwhelming.”

A rare coins expert named Jeff Ambio said the coin is regarded as the “fourth finest specimen of its kind” and is one of only 140 $1 coins left.

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