A coin collector just paid nearly $2 million for an old dime.

But not just any dime. The 1894-S Barber is one of the rarest in the world. That's why it was auctioned for $1,997,500 in Tampa on Thursday.

"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," Heritage Auctions said in a press release.

The San Francisco mint made about 2.5 million of these dimes, but fewer than 10 are still known to exist, according to Heritage. That's because a financial crisis in 1893 killed demand for new coinage, and almost all the dimes were melted down. Only 19 went into circulation.

The buyer is choosing to remain anonymous, according to Heritage. The auction house is running a series of auctions on U.S. coins from Jan. 6 to 11.

Many of the coins are priced in the hundreds of dollars, instead of the thousands or millions.

In 2013, a silver dollar from 1794 broke a record when it sold for $10,016,875, according to coin auctioneer Stack's Bowers Galleries in Irvine, Calif.