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Specifications Designer Adolph A. Weinman Obverse Miss Liberty wearing a phrygian cap Reverse Battle ax and olive branch Edge Reeded Weight 2.50 grams Diameter 17.9 millimeters Composition Silver (90%), Copper (10%) Date(s) 1916 - 1945

The Mercury Dime, or Winged Liberty Head dime, is considered by many to be the most beautiful US dime produced.

Specifications

• Designer: Adolph A. Weinman
• Obverse Design: Miss Liberty wearing a phrygian cap
• Reverse Design: Battle ax and olive branch
• Edge: Reeded
• Weight: 2.50 grams
• Diameter: 17.9 millimeters
• Composition: Silver (90%), Copper (10%)
• Dates Minted: 1916 - 1945

Background

The technically-correct crowd will tell you that the Mercury dime should actually be called the Winged Liberty dime. That’s actually true, because that is NOT the ancient god, Mercury on the face of this dime, rather, it IS Miss Liberty wearing a cap with wings to symbolize freedom of thought. But let’s face it— the head on the Mercury dime matches almost exactly, the symbol of the FTD Florists, the speedy ancient god, Mercury. So this particular dime will likely ALWAYS be referred to as the “Mercury dime,” simply because popular wisdom trumps technically-correct, every time. Which is also why the one-cent coin will always be popularly referred to as a “penny," rather than the technically-correct, “cent.”

But back to the coin itself. The Mercury dime appeared on the U.S coin landscape in 1916. The new Mercury dime was the second type of dime to bear a 1916-date, as the old Barber dime series finished up that same year. As it was, the year 1916 was somewhat of a renaissance year for U.S. coinage, for in that year, three new U.S. coin designs appeared: the Mercury dime, the Standing Liberty quarter, and the Walking Liberty half dollar. All three are considered beautiful classics today. Imagine getting a mint-set from the year 1916, where these three coin designs AND the classic Buffalo nickel design would be included!

In fact, the year 1916 is a milestone in U.S. coinage for another reason. Up until 1916, the dime always had the same obverse design as the quarter and the half dollar. This all changed with the introduction of the Mercury dime, Standing Liberty quarter and Walking Liberty half dollar -—all three with completely different obverse designs.

The Mercury dime design is simpler than the more striking-looking Standing Liberty quarter or the REALLY attractive Walking Liberty half dollar. A major reason for this, obviously, is the much smaller surface of the dime—you simply can’t fit as much onto the face of it! Even so, the designer of the Mercury dime, Adolph A. Weinman, produced a design of simple classic beauty: a winged liberty head that had the look of an ancient classic Greek coin, and a reverse featuring a bundle of sticks flanked by a battle ax and entwined with an olive branch. The battle-ax symbolized “preparedness,” the olive branch symbolizing “peace”,:and the entire bundle together symbolizing unity. So you can see from the obverse and reverse design, this tiny coin is heavy with symbolism!

History

It’s somewhat of a shame that this tiny classic coin beauty, whose design expresses hope for peace, unity and liberty, had its circulation years flanked by two horrific World Wars. The Mercury dime entered circulation right in the middle of World War I, and ended the same year as World War II ended. Also, unfortunately, the Mercury dime is the dime of the “Brother, can you spare a dime” years: the Great Depression of 1929-1936. But the Mercury dime did enjoy one Golden Age span in the U.S., that being the prosperous Roaring Twenties, at least until 1929.

The Mercury dime would be the last dime type to be struck in 90% silver during its entire run. So every collector can rest assured that, unlike the Roosevelt dime series, every Mercury dime is a silver dime. Also, the Mercury dime features three of the most popular “rarities” in 20th century U.S. coinage: the 1916-D dime (retails $2,500 in Fine), and the 1942 overdates (the 1942, 2 over 1 and the 1942-d 2 over 1).

Grading

When grading Mercury dimes, the reverse design holds the key. The Mercury head was fairly bold and high relief, so is almost never found worn flat. The more defined the braids and hair, however, the better the grade. The sticks and bands on the reverse bundle, however, seem to be the first parts to show wear. If the vertical sticks and diagonal bands on the reverse are mostly visible and defined, then you have a higher-grade coin—at least Very Fine. For an Extremely Fine, the diagonal bands will be almost completely defined, and on the obverse, the braids and hair before the ear, are visible.

The Mercury dime was struck at the Philadelphia, San Francisco and Denver mints. The Philadelphia mint dimes do not have a mintmark. The San Francisco and Denver mints, however, will have their mintmark (S or D) on the reverse, at the base of the olive branch. Most dates and mintmarks are easily affordable, even into the mint-state grades. The Mercury dimes up to the early 1920’s are the most popular, not only because they are generally a bit scarcer than the ones from the late twenties through 1945, but simply because they are “early” Mercury dimes, had more time to circulate, and are harder to find in higher grades.

Mercury Dime Price Guide

Year	Mercury Dimes	G4	VG8	F12	VF20	XF40	AU50	AU53	AU55	AU58	MS60	MS61	MS62	MS63	MS64	MS65	MS66	MS67	MS68	MS69	MS70
1916	1916	7	9	10	13	15	19	24	26	30	32	35	39	44	50	101	235	$	$	$	$
	1916-D	1k	1.8k	2.6k	3.3k	5.8k	6.2k	8.1k	9.8k	11.1k	12.2k	13.3k	14.9k	16k	21k	27k	$	$	$	$	$
	1916-S	7	9	11	19	25	27	31	33	35	37	41	53	58	82	230	375	1134	$	$	$
1917	1917	6	7	8	10	13	15	18	20	23	26	30	35	43	68	155	560	$	$	$	$
	1917-D	8	11	14	28	46	50	55	83	112	135	210	290	320	475	1.3k	2.7k	4.7k	$	$	$
	1917-S	6	7	8	12	17	25	33	40	47	65	89	113	185	270	485	1k	3.5k	$	$	$
1918	1918	7	9	10	22	33	37	42	50	62	70	81	92	103	145	510	1.5k	$	$	$	$
	1918-D	6	8	11	20	31	43	71	90	101	150	189	210	260	410	1.1k	1.8k	$	$	$	$
	1918-S	7	8	8	17	24	54	77	89	110	131	180	220	260	410	840	2k	$	$	$	$
1919	1919	6	7	8	12	16	19	21	28	34	40	54	65	77	110	305	650	$	$	$	$
	1919-D	9	12	15	29	42	55	112	143	180	210	280	370	440	770	1.8k	3.5k	$	$	$	$
	1919-S	7	9	12	25	37	51	85	110	151	185	254	330	490	740	1.2k	1.9k	3k	$	$	$
1920	1920	6	7	7	10	14	18	22	28	31	38	50	61	78	110	250	590	1k	$	$	$
	1920-D	6	7	8	19	28	42	61	85	101	120	160	250	330	470	900	2k	$	$	$	$
	1920-S	6	7	8	11	21	49	88	100	110	125	187	240	310	510	1.9k	3.5k	$	$	$	$
Year	Mercury Dimes	G4	VG8	F12	VF20	XF40	AU50	AU53	AU55	AU58	MS60	MS61	MS62	MS63	MS64	MS65	MS66	MS67	MS68	MS69	MS70
1921	1921	50	95	133	330	575	770	870	960	1.1k	1.2k	1.3k	1.4k	1.5k	1.9k	3.4k	$	$	$	$	$
	1921-D	65	110	210	410	770	810	1k	1.2k	1.3k	1.5k	1.6k	1.8k	1.9k	2.6k	3.9k	5.2k	$	$	$	$
1923	1923	6	7	7	9	10	15	18	23	28	30	34	38	41	60	110	305	1.2k	$	$	$
	1923-S	7	10	12	41	66	73	95	112	126	175	210	300	380	690	1.4k	2.2k	$	$	$	$
1924	1924	6	7	7	12	18	20	22	28	34	40	55	66	83	122	205	410	1.5k	$	$	$
	1924-D	7	10	12	38	52	79	105	130	177	200	266	380	490	700	1.3k	2k	3k	$	$	$
	1924-S	6	8	11	41	57	110	155	190	210	230	290	340	430	650	1.3k	3.4k	6k	$	$	$
1925	1925	6	7	7	10	13	17	20	29	35	40	58	77	83	130	230	530	1.5k	$	$	$
	1925-D	9	14	19	78	120	185	248	290	345	390	540	690	777	1.1k	1.9k	3.1k	$	$	$	$
	1925-S	7	11	33	54	75	95	134	177	201	215	289	333	490	850	1.5k	2.7k	$	$	$	$
1926	1926	6	7	7	10	12	18	21	25	30	32	46	55	65	110	230	610	1.5k	$	$	$
	1926-D	7	9	11	22	30	54	88	105	122	130	177	205	265	330	610	1.4k	$	$	$	$
	1926-S	15	20	25	145	250	450	780	910	1k	1.2k	1.6k	1.8k	2k	2.4k	3.4k	5.3k	10k	$	$	$
Year	Mercury Dimes	G4	VG8	F12	VF20	XF40	AU50	AU53	AU55	AU58	MS60	MS61	MS62	MS63	MS64	MS65	MS66	MS67	MS68	MS69	MS70
1927	1927	6	7	7	9	11	16	22	28	31	34	42	49	55	92	177	300	$	$	$	$
	1927-D	7	9	11	44	75	85	95	115	147	195	240	290	385	610	1.3k	2k	$	$	$	$
	1927-S	7	9	11	22	28	95	145	210	265	300	395	485	635	890	1.6k	3k	$	$	$	$
1928	1928	6	7	7	9	10	14	17	23	28	30	34	39	43	60	133	470	2k	$	$	$
	1928-D	9	11	13	38	56	71	85	112	143	175	220	290	335	500	1k	1.8k	2.7k	$	$	$
	1928-S	6	7	8	18	22	55	88	105	22	130	167	210	275	335	505	1k	2.5k	$	$	$
1929	1929	6	6	6	7	9	11	14	19	22	26	28	30	32	41	71	205	600	$	$	$
	1929-D	6	7	8	14	20	22	24	26	28	30	32	34	36	47	83	163	910	5.2k	$	$
	1929-S	6	7	7	9	13	18	22	27	31	35	38	41	47	80	152	380	$	$	$	$
1930	1930	6	7	7	10	12	15	18	22	26	33	36	40	46	62	135	250	700	$	$	$
	1930-S	7	8	9	12	19	37	51	67	75	81	91	101	123	150	220	525	2k	$	$	$
1931	1931	7	8	8	12	14	17	20	28	36	41	47	55	69	94	147	390	1k	$	$	$
	1931-D	11	13	15	22	40	53	69	79	87	95	101	108	120	155	270	520	1.1k	$	$	$
	1931-S	8	9	10	16	23	34	47	59	81	95	103	112	127	170	305	600	1.3k	3.7k	$	$
Year	Mercury Dimes	G4	VG8	F12	VF20	XF40	AU50	AU53	AU55	AU58	MS60	MS61	MS62	MS63	MS64	MS65	MS66	MS67	MS68	MS69	MS70
1934	1934	5	5	5	6	7	12	18	25	29	32	34	36	38	40	47	77	250	$	$	$
	1934-D	6	6	7	10	13	28	36	43	47	49	52	54	56	63	85	165	$	$	$	$
1935	1935	5	5	5	6	7	10	12	15	17	19	22	24	25	26	34	52	226	$	$	$
	1935-D	6	7	7	10	14	20	27	34	38	40	43	47	50	56	93	385	1k	$	$	$
	1935-S	5	5	5	7	9	11	17	23	27	29	30	31	32	37	44	72	635	2.5k	$	$
1936	1936	5	5	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	19	27	40	97	710	$	$
	1936-D	6	6	6	7	9	13	18	22	25	29	31	33	35	43	55	110	375	$	$	$
	1936-S	5	5	5	6	7	9	12	19	23	26	28	29	30	34	39	62	340	$	$	$
1937	1937	5	5	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	13	13	14	14	17	26	40	105	600	$	$
	1937-D	5	5	5	6	7	10	18	22	24	25	26	27	28	33	43	83	135	1.5k	$	$
	1937-S	5	5	5	6	7	10	12	19	24	26	27	28	28	33	40	110	250	$	$	$
1938	1938	5	5	5	6	7	9	10	13	14	15	16	17	18	21	28	36	70	500	$	$
	1938-D	5	5	5	6	7	10	12	16	20	23	24	25	25	29	34	70	250	1k	$	$
	1938-S	5	5	5	6	7	9	12	18	22	24	25	27	28	31	37	85	270	600	$	$
Year	Mercury Dimes	G4	VG8	F12	VF20	XF40	AU50	AU53	AU55	AU58	MS60	MS61	MS62	MS63	MS64	MS65	MS66	MS67	MS68	MS69	MS70
1939	1939	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	9	10	10	11	12	16	25	32	55	385	$	$
	1939-D	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	9	10	10	11	12	18	22	31	85	300	$	$
	1939-S	5	5	5	6	7	12	16	22	24	27	28	29	30	37	44	68	385	755	$	$
1940	1940	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	8	9	10	10	11	14	23	29	53	300	$	$
	1940-D	5	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	9	10	10	11	12	16	31	43	110	350	$	$
	1940-S	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	9	10	10	11	12	15	31	44	155	930	$	$
1941	1941	5	5	5	6	6	6	7	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	28	51	310	$	$
	1941-D	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	9	10	11	12	13	15	22	30	100	$	$	$
	1941-S	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	9	9	10	11	12	14	22	32	200	880	$	$
1942	1942	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	9	9	10	11	12	15	22	28	50	554	$	$
	1942-D	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	22	30	113	735	$	$
	1942-S	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	9	11	13	15	17	21	26	43	190	500	$	$
1943	1943	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	9	9	10	10	11	14	22	28	53	450	$	$
	1943-D	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	9	10	10	11	11	15	22	33	125	$	$	$
	1943-S	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	9	10	10	11	12	15	22	33	176	500	$	$
Year	Mercury Dimes	G4	VG8	F12	VF20	XF40	AU50	AU53	AU55	AU58	MS60	MS61	MS62	MS63	MS64	MS65	MS66	MS67	MS68	MS69	MS70
1944	1944	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	9	9	10	11	12	15	22	29	40	$	$	$
	1944-D	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	9	10	10	11	12	15	22	28	53	350	$	$
	1944-S	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	9	10	10	11	12	15	25	35	127	700	$	$
1945	1945	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	9	9	10	11	12	15	22	28	51	500	$	$
	1945-D	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	9	9	10	11	12	15	22	29	40	$	$	$
	1945-S	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	8	9	9	10	11	12	15	22	33	249	1k	$	$

Mints

• Philadelphia Mint (no mintmark)
• San Francisco Mint (S mintmark)
• Denver Mint (D mintmark)

External Links

• CoinFacts.com Mercury Head Dimes (1916-1945)
• Amazon.com The Complete Guide to Mercury Dimes, Second Edition
• US Mercury Dime