user: Question: An experimental U.S. penny struck to test a design in 1792 sold at auction for almost $2.6 million - and the man with the winning bid also spent approximately $2.2 million on a quarter from the same year, it has emerged. It has been reported that the man spent around $4.8 million for his two coins. Heritage Auctions in Dallas said the 1792 penny sold Thursday for $2,585,000 to a California man. A Heritage official says the coin is called the 'Birch cent' after engraver Robert Birch. The official calls it the 'finest' of only about 10 known surviving examples of the pennies struck to test a design depicting 'Miss Liberty,' surrounded by the words 'Liberty Parent of Science & Industry.' That motto wasn't adopted for circulating coins. Kevin Lipton had the winning bid for the penny, The Los Angeles Times reported. 'It’s like our very first penny,' he told the newspaper. 'It’s such a spectacular coin. It’s so important, so rare.' This photo provided by Heritage Auctions shows an experimental U.S. penny struck to test a design in 1792 that sold Thursday, Jan. 8,2015 for $2,585,000 to a California man according to Heritage Auctions in Dallas. An official says the rare coin is called the "Birch cent" after engraver Robert Birch. (AP Photo/Heritage Auctions. The 55-year-old first spotted the penny inside an auction house in 1981, the newspaper reported. However, Lipton told The New York Daily News he didn't pay much notice, saying 'I didn't understand coins like that back then. Now I understand the greatest American coins are the ones that represent where we started.' Lipton paid $2,232,500 in order to get a 1792 quarter from the Orlando auction where he forked over the millions for the penny, The Los Angeles Times reported. That means he spent around $4.8 million total for 26 cents, the newspaper explained. The Los Angeles Times reported that Lipton first collected coins at the age of 12 and started a coin business at the age of 17. 'They are a great store value, and will only be worth more in the future,' Lipton told the newspaper of his new purchases. 'They are literally Mona Lisas of our coinage.' The penny's sale took place a day after another rare penny sold for $2.35 million at the same collectors' convention. A U.S. penny from 1793 sold Wednesday for $2.35 million. It's known as a 'chain cent' because of the design on the back. Buyer: Kevin Lipton, pictured, paid almost $2.6 million for a 1792 penny - and also paid approximately $2.2 million for a quarter from the same year.
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Important parts: The 1792 penny was sold to Kevin Lipton for $2,585,000. An auction house official says the coin is called the 'Birch cent' after engraver Robert Birch. The official calls it the 'finest' of only about 10 known surviving examples of the pennies struck to test a design. Lipton paid $2,232,500 in order to get a 1792 quarter from the auction.
The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to give the Treasury Department the power to ban future "unreasonable and excessive" compensation at companies receiving federal bailout money. The bill would give Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner greater say on executive compensation. The Pay for Performance Act of 2009, which passed by a vote of 247-171, would empower Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to define what constitutes reasonable compensation, as well as to ban bonuses not based on performance standards. Geithner's guidelines would apply to companies receiving assistance from the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Democrats provided heavy support for the bill, with only eight from that party voting against the measure. Republicans, who are in the minority in the House, were mostly opposed, with only 10 crossing party lines to support it. Two weeks ago, the House passed legislation taxing individuals on any bonuses received in 2009 from companies getting $5 billion or more in money from the TARP. Bonuses for people with incomes over $250,000 would be taxed at a 90 percent rate, but the measure has failed to clear the Senate.  Watch Rep. Barney Frank spar with CNN's Lou Dobbs over bonus bill ». Public outrage followed the recent revelation that insurer AIG paid $165 million in bonuses even as it received at least $170 billion of taxpayer money in federal bailouts, plus an $85 billion loan from the Federal Reserve.

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assistant: NEW: House passes Pay for Performance Act by 237-171 vote. Bill would allow Geithner to define what constitutes reasonable compensation. It would apply only to companies receiving federal bailout money.