Mercury Dimes (1916-1945)

The Mercury Dime was minted from 1916 to 1945. The Obverse featured Lady Liberty with wings on her head.

Designer: Adolph Weinman

Composition: .900 Silver, .100 Copper

History
In 1916, the Barber coinage was getting old. Luckily, for the Mint, 1916 was 25 years after the debut of that design. They wanted to change the design to something that represented freedom.

The first patterns were made in 1915. There were 3 artists designing a design for each denomination (Dime, Quarter, and Half Dollar). One design was picked for each one. Weinman won the nominations for the Dime and Half Dollar, ruining the Mint's intention.

It is believed to be based on a portrait Weinman made in 1913 of Elsie Kachel Stevens. They lived in one the apartments Weinman owned.

In 1916, the Mercury Dime dies were not made until late in the year, so the Mint made some 1916 Barber Dimes to fit in. The key date of the series is the 1916-D with only 264,000 being made. It is the only coin with a mintage under 1 Million. Some other scacer dates are 1921,  1921-D, 1942/1, and 1942/1-D. Brilliant proofs were made from 1936 to 1942 and Matte proofs were only made in 1916 with only one existing today.

"Full Split Bands" refers to the facses on the Reverse. The bands going vertical on it have to be split all the way for it to be considered "FB" (Full Bands).

The coin was a part of the "Great Depression" and was a huge part of "World War 2". It was even "alive" during "World War 1" was happening.

The Mercury Dime could buy a couple of things for the kids back in the 1940s. It could buy a 52 Paged Comic Book, a double-dipped ice cream cone, two Hershey bars, or two bottles of Coca-Cola.

Year-By-Year Guide
1916-22,180,080       1916-D-264,000       1916-S-10,450,000

1917-55,230,000       1917-D-9,402,000    1917-S-27,330,000

1918-26,680,000       1918-D-22,674,800  1918-S-19,300,000

1919-35,740,000       1919-D-9,939,000    1919-S-8,850,000

1920-59,030,000       1920-D-19,171,000  1920-S-13,820,000

1921-1,230,000         1921-D-1,080,000

1923-50,130,000       1923-S-6,440,000

1924-24,010,000       1924-D-6,180,000    1924-S-7,120,000

1925-25,610,000       1925-D-5,117,000    1925-S-5,850,000

1926-32,160,000       1926-D-6,828,000    1926-S-1,520,000

1927-28,080,000       1927-D-4,812,000    1927-S-4,770,000

1928-19,480,000       1928-D-4,161,000    1928-S-7,400,000

1929-25,970,000       1929-D-5,034,000    1929-S-4,730,000

1930-6,770,000         1930-S-1,843,000

1931-3,150,000         1931-D-1,260,000    1931-S-1,800,000

1934-24,080,000       1934-D-6,772,000

1935-58,830,000       1935-D-10,477,000  1935-S-15,840,000

1936-87,500,000       1936 Proof-4,130     1936-D-16,132,000       1936-S-9,210,000

1937-56,860,000       1937 Proof-5,756     1937-D-14,146,000       1937-S-9,740,000

1938-22,190,000       1938 Proof-8,728     1938-D-5,537,000         1938-S-8,090,000

1939-67,740,000       1939 Proof-9,321     1939-D-24,394,000       1939-S-10,540,000

1940-65,350,000       1940 Proof-11,827   1940-D-21,198,000       1940-S-21,560,000

1941-175,090,000     1941 Proof-16,557   1941-D-45,634,000       1941-S-43,090,000

1942-205,410,000     1942 Proof-22,329   1942-D-60,740,000       1942-S-49,300,000

1943-191,710,000     1943-D-71,949,000  1943-S-60,400,000

1944-231,410,000     1944-D-62,224,000  1944-S-49,490,000

1945-159,130,000     1945-D-40,425,000  1945-S-41,290,000

Resources
Coin Community Family (Information)

PCGS Photograde (Images)

Mintmark Location Photo (My photo)