A rare coin discovered in a safe deposit box last summer in Maine has been auctioned for $360,000.

The coin, one of only three 1793 Strawberry Leaf one-cent pieces known to exist, was sold to an unnamed bidder Tuesday night at the annual Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention.

The coin surfaced over the summer when it was brought to Republic Coins and Collectibles in Auburn. The woman who had the coin said her father, Roscoe E. Staples II, had purchased it around 1941 for $2,750 and gave it to his wife as an anniversary gift.

When Staples was killed in World War II in the Solomon Islands two years later, his widow, Beulah Staples, put the coin in a safe deposit box. When she died, the coin passed on to her heirs.

The coin was auctioned by American Numismatic Rarities of Wolfeboro, N.H.

Dan Cunliffe Sr., owner of Republic Jewelry & Collectibles, said the final price was about what he expected. When a 15 percent buyer’s fee is added on, the final cost will be $414,000, he said.

According to American Numismatic Rarities, the coin was the first Strawberry Leaf specimen ever sold at public auction when it brought $77.50 in 1877 by an agent for Lorin Parmalee. The coin is now known as the Parmalee specimen.

Bidding on the coin started through the Internet on Nov. 20 when the minimum bid of $150,000 was met. Five more bids were made electronically, reaching $196,000 late Tuesday afternoon and $206,900 just before the 6 p.m. start of the live auction.

The final bid of $360,000 came less then three minutes into the live auction.

It was the first time the coin had been sold at public auction since it was sold to the highest bidder in the 1890 sale of the Parmalee coin collection.