One very rare dime was sold for $2 million during an auction Thursday in Tampa, Fla. The 1894-S Barber dime was auctioned off by Heritage Auctions to an anonymous buyer for $1,997,500.
The 1894-S Barber Dime belongs to "The Big Three" coins in the U.S. that are rare to the coin-collecting community.
"The 1894-S Barber dime is a classic rarity in American coinage, often grouped with the 1804 dollar and the 1913 Liberty nickel as 'The Big Three' of United States numismatic rarities," according to The Heritage Auctions.
"In addition to its absolute rarity, the 1894-S is one of the best 'Story' coins in all of numismatics. Generations of collectors have smiled at the notion of Superintendent John Daggett's young daughter, Hallie, spending one of these dimes for ice cream on her way home from the Mint. Even though recent research indicates this anecdote is fanciful, it has lost none of its charm," they added.
John Daggett was the superintendent of the San Francisco Mint in 1893 and served there for four years, according to the Online Archive of California. There were 2.5 million of these Barber dimes made, but these coins were from a batch comprised of only 24 coins with only nine identifiable ones remaining.
One of the co-founders of the Professional Coin Grading Service, David Hall, agreed that this is one of those very rare coins eyed by collectors.
"There's a couple of iconic rarities in the rare coin market," Hall said, ABC News reported. "A couple of coins have been known among the rarest of the rare for 100 years and this is one of those numismatic icons."
The search for other 1894-S Barber Dimes are still ongoing. Mark Borckardt, a numismatist for the Heritage Auction House, is encouraging people to keep an eye for them.
"They could be in somebody's desk drawer. They could be sitting in somebody's bank box. People could look almost anywhere and they might show up," Borckardt said.
