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The Gold and Silver Mine: Mercury dime is a myth

The decision by the United States Mint to strike the Centennial series of coins in gold, that is restriking the Mercury dime, the Standing Liberty quarter and the Walking Liberty half dollar, coins that first appeared 100 years ago, has sparked an interest in collecting sets of the originals the Centennial series represents. This article and the next 2 will examine each series, starting with the Mercury dime, and discuss collecting opportunities as well as rarities and “sleeper” coins.

The winged Liberty head design was intended to symbolize liberty of thought, a foreign concept in todays’ “politically correct” environment. The dime picked up the nickname “Mercury” because of the similarity in appearance to the methodical god Mercury, the winged messenger. The design was minted from 1916 through 1945, to be replaced by the Roosevelt design which paid tribute to our then recently deceased president. Although the Mercury dime was to be released in 1916, the dies were not available until later in the year, so the Philadelphia and San Francisco mints continued striking the Barber dime series until the dies were available, and in quantities that make those coins common.

There are 77 coins in the normal set from 1916 to 1945, and 3 additional coins in an extended set. Coins were struck continually from 1916 with the exception of 1922 and 1932 and 1933, during the Depression when the government felt there was no need for additional dimes in circulation. All three mints, Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco struck Mercury dimes, but not every year. Mint marks are found on the reverse of the coin near the rim at a little left of the 6 o’clock position. A circulated normal set of 77 Mercury dimes in good or better condition would cost a collector somewhere in the vicinity of $900 whereas an uncirculated set would be around $16,000 to $17,000. The key date to the series, in any grade, is the 1916-D (Denver mint) with only 264,000 coins minted verses millions for other years. A 1916-D dime in just good condition is worth around $600, but increases dramatically for each increase in grade, with coins in uncirculated condition starting at $10,000. The next 2 hardest dimes to find are the 1921 and the 1921-D with just over 1 million coins each minted.

The extended set is comprised of the 1942 and 1942-D overdates, the result of 1941 dies being repunched with a 2 punched over the 1 in the date for use in striking 1942 dimes. Coins are supposed to be dated in the year they were struck, but this rule was not always adhered to. There is no way to know how many of these overdate coins were struck because mintage figures are for the total year using all dies, but it can be safely stated there aren’t too many minted as their price starts at around $400 and goes up to over $2500 in uncirculated condition. The third coin in the extended set is the 1945-S with small and large mintmarks. Since the difference in value between the 2 coins is small and they aren’t very valuable to start with, I don’t bother with the difference.

Circulated Mercury dimes in the teens and twenties are a little harder to find in mid-grade, that is with good detail on both sides. Most have the rim on the reverse worn into the lettering due to heavy use in commerce. The dates in the thirties and forties are available with good detail on both sides.

A word about grading uncirculated Mercury dimes; All uncirculated dimes are not equal as the quality of the strike and the fewer “bag marks” on the coin increases the quality of the grade. An example is what is called “full band lines”. The bundle on the reverse of the coin, called the fasces, has 3 horizontal groups of bands holding it together, one each top, middle and bottom. If the lines between the horizontal bands are distinctly separated, they are known as “full band lines”. Certain date coins graded MS65-FSB (for “full split bands”), and they have to be graded such by a reputable grading firm such as NGC or PCGS, can command prices in the 10’s of thousands of dollars. However on the other side “of the coin,” nice uncirculated common date dimes without split bands can be bought for as little as $10.

As for the “sleeper” coins there have been some recent finds of varieties that have not been listed in all price guides, notably some double die varieties. And I found a 1944-D dime with a clearly repunched second “D” mintmark. So it pays to pay close attention to the coins in your collection.

Douglas Keefe is the president of Beachcomber Coins Inc. He and his wife, Linda, operate Beachcomber Coins and Collectibles, formerly in the Shore Mall and now at 6692 Black Horse Pike in the old Wawa building just past the former Cardiff Circle. They have satellite offices in Brigantine and Absecon. Between them they have more than 70 years of experience in the coin and precious metals business. They are members of the American Numismatic Association, the Industry Council of Tangible Assets, the Numismatic Guarantee Corporation, the Certified Coin Exchange and the Professional Coin Grading Service.