diff --git a/activesupport/lib/active_support/xml_mini.rb b/activesupport/lib/active_support/xml_mini.rb
index be298bf0a1..b5995d6fe9 100644
--- a/activesupport/lib/active_support/xml_mini.rb
+++ b/activesupport/lib/active_support/xml_mini.rb
@@ -68,11 +68,7 @@ def content_type
         "float"        => Proc.new { |float|   float.to_f },
         "decimal"      => Proc.new do |number|
           if String === number
-            begin
-              BigDecimal(number)
-            rescue ArgumentError
-              BigDecimal(number.to_f.to_s)
-            end
+            number.to_d
           else
             BigDecimal(number)
           end