Rare old U.S. dime fetches $1.3 million

BALTIMORE, March 8 (UPI) -- An unidentified U.S. coin collector has purchased an 1894 dime minted in San Francisco for more than $1.3 million, WBAL-TV, Baltimore, reported Tuesday.

The coin was consigned to the auctioneers David Lawrence Rare Coins of Virginia Beach, Va., by Bradley Hirst of Richmond, Ind., who bought it for $825,000 six years ago.

The winning bidder took part in the auction by phone, the report said.

The coin was in near-mint condition and one of only 10 known remaining San Francisco dimes, of which only 24 were ever produced, said auctioneer John Feigenbaum.

The San Francisco mint director had ordered the small batch of coines for use as gifts for visiting bankers, Feigenbaum said.