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[edit | edit source]
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
Mintmark location
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[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
Coin Community Family (Information)
PCGS Photograde (Images)
Mintmark Location Photo (My photo)
