Rare 1776 Continental Dollar Coin Set to Go to Auction

One dollar will be worth a lot more than that — as a rare 1776 continental dollar coin is set to go to auction next month.

A rare 1776 continental dollar coin is set to go to auction next month, and it could fetch up to $39,540.

The coin was recently found in a collection of 18th and 19th-century items that were brought to Wotton Auction Rooms in Gloucestershire, England. Auctioneers found the coin in a toffee tin that contained hundreds of pieces.

"It was one of the last objects to be examined. Once work started, we thought that the chances were that it could well be a copy, although everything else within the tin had been genuine and of a very good standard," the auction house said in an email to CBS News.

The auction house sent the coin to the NGC numismatic guarantee company for authentication and the results confirmed the coin's authenticity.

The continental dollar was the first pattern coin struck for the United States. Believed to be designed by Benjamin Franklin, the continental dollar concepts were translated into coins by Elisha Gallaudet, a New York engraver. Gallaudet was thought to have made them at a makeshift private mint in New Jersey, the Smithsonian Museum said, and the coins were issued in silver and pewter.

The silver versions of the coins are extremely rare and only two are known to exist, according to the Professional Coin Grading Service, a rare coin grading company. About 20 pewter continental dollars exist in mint condition, said PCGS.

In 2008, a pewter continental dollar was auctioned for the record price of $264,500. In 2015, a silver continental dollar was auctioned off for a record $1,527,500.

The recently discovered coin is set to be auctioned on October 3, said the auction house. It is estimated to go for £20,000 (about $26,360) to £30,000 (about $39,540).