Carrier bags might cost 5p from a shop, but one with a coin stuck at the bottom of it ended up being worth a little bit more.

For the coin was one of the earliest American cents in existence, and sold for a staggering £11,224 when it went up for auction in Dorset, England.

The 1794 coin was discovered by auctioneer Timothy Medhurst when he was asked to check on a plastic bag full of coins. It was left at the bottom and he nearly missed it.

He found it, and auctioned it at Duke's in Dorset, selling it in the end for 1.7 million times its original face value.

The single cent, known to this day as a 'penny' even in the US, dates from the first few years of the United States as a country, and if it had been paid as part of an early American's wages then, it would be worth on $41 now, or £26. As a 221-year-old coin, however, it's worth 430 times that now.

"The market for American coins is at an all-time high, with some examples fetching record prices," said Mr Medhurst. "This particular cent dated 1794 was found in a plastic bag amongst other somewhat valueless coins. This shows that there are still many treasures to be discovered even in the most unlikely of places!" he added.

To read the complete article, see:
US 1794 'penny' coin found in plastic bag in Dorset sells for 1.7 MILLION times more than a cent (www.westerndailypress.co.uk/1794-penny-coin-plastic-bag-sells
-1-7-MILLION/story-28064756-detail/story.html)