Mercury Dimes ~ 90% Silver 10c Coins, Circulated Condition, Choose How Many!
The Mercury dime is a US ten-cent coin minted from 1916 to 1945 that contains 90% silver and 10% copper.
Overview and Design
- Official Name: Winged Liberty Head dime
- Designer: Adolph Weinman
- Obverse (Front): Lady Liberty wearing a cap with wings, which was meant to symbolize freedom of thought. People mistook the winged cap for the Roman god Mercury, giving the coin its famous nickname.
- Reverse (Back): A Roman fasces (a bundle of sticks with an axe) symbolizing military readiness and unity, next to an olive branch for peace.
Value and Collecting
- Silver Melt Value: Most common circulated Mercury dimes are worth their underlying silver weight (about 0.0723 troy ounces of pure silver).
- Key Dates: Rare dates like the 1916-D (Denver mint), 1921, 1921-D, and error varieties like the 1942/1 overdate or 1945 Micro-S can sell for hundreds or thousands of dollars depending on condition.
- Full Bands (FB): Coins with fully split horizontal lines on the central fasces on the back command higher collector premiums.