Mercury dimes always in demand
By Paul M. Green

Nothing seems to hurt the popularity of the Mercury dime. Even when dimes are not particularly active, the Mercury dime retains its popularity. This is in part because it makes for a fascinating collection but also because it features a design everyone seems to like.

If we are looking for a hero other than Adolph Weinman behind the creation of the Mercury dime, it’s probably Teddy Roosevelt. His effort at reinvigorating U.S. coinage designs gave the momentum to the changes that came after he left office. That said, there is no doubt that the big story in 1916 was Weinman, who submitted the winning designs for the dime and half dollar.

Mint Director F.J.H. von Engelken described the dime’s design as follows:

“The obverse shows a head of Liberty with winged cap. The head is firm and simple in form; the profile forceful. The reverse shows a design of the bundle of rods, with battle-ax, known as ‘Fasces,’ and symbolical of unity, wherein lies the Nation’s strength. Surrounding the fasces is a full-foliaged branch of olive, symbolical of peace.”

What Von Engelken had to say is interesting in that it clears up one matter in that the new dime did not depict Mercury at all but Liberty with a winged cap. However, today it is still known most commonly as a Mercury dime.

Mintage of the new dime began with the release of 22,180,000 1916-dated coins from Philadelphia, 10,450,000 from San Francisco and a slight 264,000 from Denver. Explaining why the 1916-D ended up with a low mintage has bothered many for years. It suggests that in the area around Denver there was no commercial need for more dimes.

However, in his book, American Coin Treasures and Hoards, Q. David Bowers includes a story from Wayne Miller regarding a hoard of 135 “marginal to gem brilliant uncirculated” 1916-S Mercury dimes purchased from a Chinese family in Helena, Mont. The family had been in the area since 1916. And even though Denver was much closer than San Francisco, the 1916 dimes they received were from San Francisco. This suggests that either the 1916-D was made late in the year or that it did not have very good distribution.

The one thing that is certain is that the 1916-D is now a famous key in Mercury series. Since 1916 no other dime had a mintage of less than 1 million, which makes the 1916-D easily the most important dime of the 20th century.

The 1916-D, like other better issues of that year, was not saved in the numbers we might expect.

We have some solid proof that the 1916-D was in circulation long after it was released. In the 1990s, a hoard of coins was purchased by Littleton Coin Co. that the firm termed the “New York Subway Hoard.” This hoard was begun in the 1940s and it included a stunning 241 1916-D Mercury dimes as well as 166 1942/41 overdate dimes. The presence of so many 1916-D dimes suggests there were not many dime collectors and not many who pulled better dates from circulation.

Older collectors will certainly understand the staggering coin total in the New York Subway Hoard, as the 1916-D was quite literally a dime of dreams. Collectors would search for years in the hope of simply finding a single 1916-D, and by the 1950s most had given up hope of ever locating one. To find 241 of these coins was remarkable.

Today the 1916-D lists for $795 in Good-4, $9,350 in Mint State-60, $22,500 in MS-65, and jumps to $44,500 for an MS-65 with full split bands.

The high price of the 1916-D is actually only partially a result of its scarcity and low mintage. The 1916-D is one of the few truly legendary U.S. coins and, therefore, commands far beyond normal demand.

It’s like the 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln cent. Collectors like to own examples of these classic rarities, whether or not they collect the series. Such high demand also encourages dealers to buy the 1916-D when offered, as they know they will not have to hold it in stock long.

Among the Mercury dimes, the 1916-D has no serious challengers in circulated grades. The semi-keys are the 1921 and 1921-D, which had mintages of 1,230,000 and 1,080,000, respectively. Those totals result in prices of $43.50 and $62.50 in G-4.

One of the attractions of the Mercury dime set is that you are getting some good values. In a grade like G-4, other than the 1921 and 1921-D, there are no dates that are even $10. Yet you find a number of dates like the 1926-S, 1930-S, 1931-D, 1931-S and they all had mintages of less than 2 million pieces.

Even in MS-60 a set of Mercury dimes seems relatively inexpensive. The 1916-D at $9,350 is a problem, but the rest of the dates are quite reasonably priced.

The 1921 and 1921-D are at $1,000 and $1,150, respectively, while the 1926-S is at $900. But the vast majority of dates are less than $50 and there are even a few from the 1940s that are less than $10.

In MS-65 there are a number of potentially expensive dates. But even in that grade, there are a number of dates that are not all that expensive.

The 1916-D continues to be much more costly than the others, at $22,500, but the 1921 and 1921-D are each $3,200, and the 1926-S lists for $3,000. There are some other better dates, like the 1917-D and 1919-D, but in many cases even in MS-65 there are still many available for less than $50.

The real focus on the part of many in recent years has been the ultra grade of MS-65 or better with full split bands. It should be no surprise that the 1916-D is again the most costly date, at $44,500, although what might be surprising is that the price is up from $14,500 in 1998.

There is another Mercury dime at a high price in MS-65 FSB. It is the 1942/41 at $38,500. Its companion, the 1942/41-D, brings $19,500.

The two are relatively close in price in most grades. The 1942/41 sells for $550 in G-4, $1,900 in MS-60 and $12,500 in MS-65. The 1942/41-D is $500 in G-4, $2,250 in MS-60 and $5,600 in MS-65.

It is not often that collectors opt to include errors in their set, but the 1942/41 and 1942/41-D are not exactly normal errors. Like the 1955 doubled-die Lincoln cent, they received a great deal of publicity when they were discovered. Plus, they were virtually twin errors which was unusual.

Another Mercury dime that is regularly included in a set is the 1945-S with a “micro S.” It was created by the use of a punch that was designed for Philippine coins of 1907-1920.

How such a punch ended up being used on Mercury dimes would be interesting to know, but when the small “S” was discovered, the only real question was how high the “micro S’ variety would go in price. However, although it is better in mint state at prices of $85 in MS-65 and $650 in MS-65 FSB, most paid little attention to it.

Whatever dates you ultimately decide to include in your Mercury dime set, the fact is that you really cannot go wrong. The Mercury dime is simply a lot of fun to collect. And with some very interesting coins, it is easy to see why Mercury dimes remain very popular with every generation of collectors.