When Dr. Robert Simpson boarded a military helicopter from Miami on Aug. 19, 1969, bound for the central Gulf Coast, little could prepare him for the horrors he would witness as the first National Hurricane Center director to survey the immediate aftermath of a hurricane.

Officials say a piece of copper that was struck by the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia in 1794 and was a prototype for the fledgling nation’s money was auctioned off for $840,000, considerably more than expected.

A piece of copper that was struck by the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia in 1794 and was a prototype for the fledgling nation’s money will go up for auction Friday.