A Stradivarius violin known as The Penny has been sold for 1.2 million U.S. dollars at Christie's auction house in New York.

It had been estimated to sell for up to 1.5 million US dollars.

The violin was previously owned by Barbara Penny, the first woman to play in the strings section of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, who became the owner of the instrument in 1965.

Kerry Keane, the head of musical instruments at Christies, said the violin was very special.

"This was a violin certainly for a player. It had a wonderful big round fat sound, great reach in a hall. When a concert violinist is playing in a hall they want to be able to be heard up in the cheap seats way in the back and that's what a Stradivarius does for a player."

The violin was made by the Italian master crafter, Antonio Stradivari in Cremona around 1700.

Prices of Stradivari violins are often high due to their quality and their rarity, and there are approximately 600 of these violins in existence.

Another Stradivari called "the Hammer" sold for more than 3.5 million US dollars at a Christie's auction in 2006.