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Could a dime maker in 1894 ever imagine that one dime would be worth nearly $2 million in the 21st century?

Well, it is. The 1894-S Barber dime was auctioned on Thursday in Tampa, Fla, by Heritage Auctions to an anonymous buyer for $1,997,500.

This rare coin is part of "The Big Three" in the U.S. that is very rare among coin-collecting community members.

"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 the United States numismatic rarities," according to The Heritage Auctions.

"In addition to its absolute rarity, the 1894-S is one of the best 'Story' coins in all of the numismatics. Generations of collectors have smiled at the notion of Superintendent John Daggett's young daughter, Hallie, spending one of these dimes for ice cream on her way home from the Mint. Even though recent research indicates this anecdote is fanciful, it has lost none of its charm," they added.

John Daggett had been the superintendent of the San Francisco Mint for four years from 1893, according to the Online Archive of California.

While 2.5 million of Barber dimes had been manufactured, these coins belonged to a batch that had just 24 coins, from which just nine identifiable ones remain.

And this coin belongs to that rare lot, agrees one of the co-founders of the Professional Coin Grading Service, David Hall.

"There's a couple of iconic rarities in the rare coin market," Hall said, ABC News  reported. "A couple of coins have been known among the rarest of the rare for 100 years and this is one of those numismatic icons."

Where are the other 1894-S Barber Dimes? Nobody knows still though they are all searching. Mark Borckardt, a numismatist for the Heritage Auction House, is calling for efforts for everyone to keep an eye peeled for them.

"They could be in somebody's desk drawer. They could be sitting in somebody's bank box. People could look almost anywhere and they might show up," Borckardt said.