Rare U.S. nickel sells for $3.7 million

ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 8 (UPI) -- An extremely rare U.S. nickel that was featured in an episode of TV's "Hawaii Five-O" sold for more than $3.7 million in Florida, the auctioneers said.

Greg Rohan, president of Heritage Auctions, based in Dallas, said the 1913 Liberty Head nickel, one of only five of its kind known to still exist, sold for $3,737,500 Thursday at the Orlando Convention Center.

"It is probably the most famous United States rare coin because it was seen by tens of millions of viewers in an episode of 'Hawaii Five-O,'" Rohan said.

The names of the seller and the winning bidder were not disclosed. However, Rohan said a number of the world's wealthy are among the previous owners of the coin.

"In the 1940's this coin was in the collection of the notorious King Farouk of Egypt who was deposed in 1952. In December 1973 it was prominently featured in an episode of the TV series, 'Hawaii Five-O,' entitled 'The $100,000 Nickel.' Los Angeles Lakers owner, Dr. Jerry Buss, paid $200,000 for the coin in 1978, and it changed hands several times since then, crossing the million dollar mark in 2003. Now it sold for over $3.7 million in spirited bidding," Rohan said.