“The Penny” was sold at US$1.27-million

A violin made by legendary 18th century Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari was sold at Christie's auction in New York last Friday, Apr. 4, for US$1.27-million. The violin is known as "The Penny", which is named after its previous owner English musician Barbara Penny who died last year.

During his lifetime, Stradivari had made more than 1,100 instruments consisted of guitars, harps and violins, of which some 650 items had been preserved. His fine and unique craftsmanship had made these instruments such a musical gem. In fact, his violins are regarded as some of the world's most expensive musical instruments and considered to have the best sound.

The record for a Stradivari violin stands at US$3.5-million, which was set at an auction also in New York in May 2006. The violin is monickered as "The Hammer," named after a 19th century Swedish collector Christian Hammer.