Rare Bermudian coins, including one of four threepence in private hands, will go up for auction in the US this week.

The Long Beach Signature Auction, will feature several of the island’s historic “hogge pennies” which date back to 1616.

Two sixpences, two Sommer twopences and a shilling will also go under the hammer on Thursday and Friday.

Only eight of the threepence coins are known to exist and half of them are held by private collectors.

The coins are prized by collectors because of their rarity.

A Somers Island sixpence sold at auction in New York for $70,500 in 2015.

Hogge money, named after the hog featured on the coins, was introduced less than ten years after settlement began under the leadership of Daniel Tucker, who was appointed by the Bermuda Company.

Brass coinage with a thin silver coat was created in denominations of twopence, threepence, sixpence and a shilling, with Roman numerals used for values.

But tobacco remained the main medium of exchange for larger transactions.

The threepence included at the Long Island auction, organised by Heritage Auctions, was said to be one of the “more attractive” examples known to exist. The auctioneer said the coin “recently surfaced” in Bermuda.

The description from Heritage Auctions said: “Like all examples seen, the steel-brown/silver-grey surfaces show some light corrosion, but significant amounts of the silver plating remain intact.”

But the auctioneer added the coin was “unusually well-detailed, with fine interior detail still evident on the hog’s fur”.

The catalogue said: “With only four examples in private hands, and two of those sold relatively recently and now in strong hands, it may be many years before a comparable example becomes available.”