It was only the second highest price in that auction. An 1854-S $5 gold piece sold for $2 million plus. However, coins that sell for the most money are those issued for circulation that for any number of reasons become exceedingly rare.
In the case of the Washington gold piece, it was only a pattern, and never issued for circulation. And I believe it is a record, or close to one, for a coin that was a pattern only.
Leon is correct there are quite a number of coins that have sold for more, probably a few dozen at least. A 1933 $20 double eagle is still the record holder at $7.6 million (I think). That was sold in 2002 and that record has stood for 16 years.
Last edited by barrysloate; 08-19-2018 at 05:44 PM.
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