Largest coin in European history also becomes the most expensive

A large gold coin minted in 1609 for Spain’s King Philip III broke records to become the most valuable coin in Europe at a sale in Switzerland on Monday, Reuters writes.

The unique 339-gram piece sold for 2,817,500 Swiss francs ($3.49 million). It had a starting price of $2.46 million.

It was made as a show of regal wealth and power, equaling many years’ salary, and is the largest in modern European history, Geneva-based Numismatica Genevensis SA auction house founder Alain Baron said.

Lost for several centuries, it turned up in the United States around 1950 where a New York collector bought it before selling it to a Spanish buyer a decade later.