A ¥2 gold coin issued in 1880 was sold Sunday for ¥32.1 million at an auction in Tokyo held by the Finance Ministry.

The winning bid for the coin — the only one of its kind in the government's possession — sharply exceeded the previous high of ¥17 million in a series of ministry-sponsored auctions of gold coins.

About 1,400 coins went under the hammer Sunday. The starting bid for the ¥2 coin was ¥7 million, and participants applauded when it was sold at the record price.

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