MIAMI – A rare 1913 US coin once owned by an Egyptian king and later featured in noted US TV detective series Hawaii Five-Owas sold for more than $3.7 million (€2.57 million) in a public auction in Florida, the auctioneers said yesterday.
The so-called Liberty Head nickel, one of only five known of that specific date and design, was sold “in spirited bidding” to a private east coast coin collector in Orlando late on Thursday, according to Greg Rohan, president of Heritage Auctions, based in Dallas, Texas. The buyer wished to remain anonymous.
The $3,737,500 price for the five-cent coin included a 15 per cent buyer’s premium.
“It is probably the most famous United States rare coin,” Mr Rohan said in a statement.
Once part of the coin collection owned by Egypt’s King Farouk, who was deposed in 1952, the Liberty nickel changed hands several times and featured as part of the plot in a 1973 episode of the CBS detective show.
The value of the rare coin, which was made at the Philadelphia Mint with the Miss Liberty design, crossed the million dollar mark in 2003. – (Reuters)