Roosevelt dime struck on sixpenny nail bound for auction

TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 21 (UPI) -- An auction of rare coins in Florida includes a highly unusual one-of-a-kind piece of currency: a Roosevelt dime struck on a zinc-coated nail.

Heritage Auctions said the item, scheduled for auction during the Florida United Numismatists convention Jan. 7 in Tampa, resulted from a loose nail finding its way into coin-minting machinery.

"This spectacular error is one of the most unusual pieces to ever come out of a United States Mint. This zinc-coated sixpenny nail found its way into the coinage production line during the minting of Roosevelt dimes, and apparently escaped through normal distribution channels. We have no doubt that this striking error will be the prize of its new owner when it falls to the auctioneer's hammer," Heritage said.

The date did not find its way onto the struck portion of the nail, so its vintage is unknown, Heritage said. Roosevelt dimes were first produced in 1965.