BEVERLY HILLS—Kevin Lipton, a Beverly Hills man and prominent coin collector just shelled out $2.85 million for a rare penny on January 11.

According to the Los Angeles Times, “The coin is among 10 similar coins known to exist that were experimentally produced after the founding of the U.S. Mint,” said Jim Halperin, co-chairman of Heritage Auctions.

The “Birch Cent” named after its engraver, Robert Birch, was initially cosigned by Johns Hopkins University in 1981. It was then purchased by Donald G Patrick, a New York City developer. Patrick then cosigned the coin to Heritage Auctions where Lipton purchased it from.

At the same auction, Lipton also bought a rare quarter dollar dated from 1792 for $2.323 million. In total, he reportedly paid nearly $4.8 million for both coins whose collective face values equal 26 cents.

Lipton explained the significance of the Birch Cent to Canyon News: “The Birch Cent is special because it is the first real penny struck for the United States. We didn’t start issuing pennies until 1793 and this was the prototype for the first penny, and there are only ten which we know exist.”

Lipton also discussed the historical value of the rare quarter dollar: “This quarter (dated 1792) was the prototype for the first quarter, which was first circulated in 1796. There are only two available—and the other one is located at the Smithsonian.”

“This is the only one available to collectors,” he stated.

Referring to the historic significance of these coins, Lipton said “They’re so special because they are of the highest rarity. Number two, they were struck under the authority of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams.” He continued, “As a nation, striking your own money declares to the world that you are legitimate. Jefferson was the one who insisted that coins in the US were to be struck on a metric system. So that’s why the coins were struck this way.”

Lipton’s coin shop named “Kevin Lipton Rare Coin,” is located at 9478 West Olympic Boulevard in Beverly Hills.

According to his profile on Yelp, “Kevin Lipton is one of the greatest coin traders of all-time and has handled most of the important United States coin rarities. He has sold over one billion dollars worth of high quality rare coins…Today he remains one of the largest and most active buyers and sellers of U.S. rare coins. He attends every major coin show and participates in every major coin auction. He is one of the top buyers of U.S. coin rarities.”