Rare coin that was donated to Indiana church fetches $517K at auction

An extremely rare coin donated by an anonymous woman to a church in Indiana to help finance a new building for its congregation has been sold for $517,000 at an auction on Thursday.

The value of the 1866 proof Liberty Head double eagles coin that was donated to GracePoint Church in Valparaiso was initially estimated at $300,000, but it fetched $517,000 at a public auction in Illinois.

GracePoint, which was founded in 2009, has been conducting its services at an elementary school. The anonymous woman donated the coin earlier this year as "seed money" for the construction of its own church building, NBC 5 reported.

According to mint records, only 30 proof Liberty double eagles were struck in 1866, and the coin donated by the woman was one of only 10 survivors.

"The coin is one of only 10 known surviving Liberty Head double eagles from 1866 with the 'In God We Trust' motto engraved in it," Sarah Miller, director of numismatics for Heritage Auctions, stated.

"It is expected to sell for $300,000 or more in a public auction in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Illinois and online, April 27, 2017," she noted in a news release earlier this month.

Prior to the auction, Heritage wired $150,000 as an advance payment toward the final price of the coin, enabling the church to begin construction on the new building.

The church was able to avoid missing a crucial financial deadline for the project because of the donation. However, the donation almost did not happen as someone tried to steal it from the donor's home four years ago.

Ben Lamb, the church's pastor, said that the woman considered the coin as a "thorn in her side," but he described it as an "incredible gift in God's story."

The woman told CBS News that the coin was bought for $125,000 decades ago by her late husband who was an avid coin collector.

"Although this gold piece brought grief to the widow for many years, ultimately it brought incredible joy," he said.

"It's ironic that the last few hours before our financial deadline, the congregation had to do exactly what the coin's motto said over a hundred years ago: trust God," Lamb added.

Plans for the new church building include an auditorium for more than 500 people, a kid's center, and a lobby.