A unique 1873-CC Liberty Seated No Arrows Dime has sold for $1.8m as part of the Battle Born Collection auction of rare coins.

Of the original 12,400 non arrow dimes produced just this PCGS-graded MS 65 coin survives, with the remainder believed to have been melted down to create arrowed versions.

The only example that escaped melting

Its rarity helped provoke a bidding war at the Philadelphia, US auction.

"Generally speaking, in the coin auction business, you might get a couple of people fighting each other as they bid," remarked Chris Napolitano, the auction house's president.

"On this one, we had four or five buyers over $1m. We had a fair amount of buyers pursuing it."

The much sought-after dime had last changed hands at auction in July 2004 for $891,250, representing an 11.96% pa rise in value, once again detailing the investment-potential of the sector. View Paul Fraser Collectibles' stock of investment-grade rare coins here.

Featuring only the second complete 111-piece set of Carson City coinage ever assembled and the only complete Carson City set to be sold during a single sale, the entire collection sold for close to $10m.

Carson City, in Nevada, US, is famed for its mint, which ran from 1870 to 1893.

The collection crossed the block during the Rarities Night Auction on August 9, part of the ANA World's Fair of Money, which ended on Saturday.

The set was named after the anonymous consigner's home state of Nevada, known as the "Battle Born State."

Which is the better long-term investment?