Man discovers $14,000 in designer bag left at train station

A man found a Chanel purse at a New York station that contained $10,000USD ($14,000AUD) cash.

Richard Taverna was heading home after a workout at the gym when he spotted the bag leaning against a wall at the northbound 1 train platform at 66th and Broadway.

"I picked it up and had a quick look to see if there was any identification with it,” the 63-year-old told local blog West Side Rag. "I just saw a piece of paper with some Russian writing on it."

Taverna admitted he knew there were no transport authorities at the station, so he picked it up and vowed to investigate the matter further.

Later that night, the retiree took out the purse and discovered the piece of paper was actually an envelope containing a number of $100 dollar bills. He took the purse and the money to the police station the next morning.

Captain Timothy Malin, who is an officer at the station where Taverna dropped off the lost item, said, "I dare call it a Christmas miracle. The cops in the precinct couldn’t think higher of this guy."

Apparently the owner of the purse had come into the station to report her missing item.

The 63-year-old Good Samaritan admitted to the blog that he didn't even consider doing a dirty and keeping the cash for himself. "I think most people would’ve returned it," he said.

Malin said he's looking forward to letting the owner know that her belongings have been found. All 10,000 of them.