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Mercury Dime Collecting Tips

Mercury dimes are popular with coin collectors because they are relatively modern, making them easier to find than coins from the 19th century, or older. Yet, they also have some value due to their silver content; some of the rare varieties can be extremely valuable. The attractive Liberty-head design is also a hit with numismatists.

History and Identification
- The Mercury dime is mistakenly named. The face on the front is supposed to represent Liberty, with the wings crowning the cap intended to symbolize liberty of thought, rather than the Roman god Mercury. This dime was minted from 1916 to 1945 in Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco. It weighs 2.5g and is 90-percent silver and 10-percent copper.
Conditions
- The Mercury dime's condition depends on the coin's wear. Good, or G-4, condition is when the lines and bands in the fasces on the reverse are completely worn. For the coin to be in very good, or VG-8, condition, half the sticks must be discernible in the fasces. If the sticks in the fasces are defined, but the diagonal bands are worn nearly flat, the dime is in very fine, or VF-20, shape. If there is slight wear in the diagonal bands, and the braids and hair above Liberty's ear are clearly visible, the coin rates as extremely fine, or EF-40. If there is only slight wear and most of the mint luster is still present, the coin is considered to be in about uncirculated, or AU-50, condition.
Rare Varieties
- There were only about 264,000 Mercury dimes minted in Denver in 1916, so dimes from that year with the D mintmark carry a large premium, ranging from $900 in G-4 condition to $9,200 for AU-50. Only about 2 million Mercury dimes were minted in 1921, and values range from $60 to $900 between good and about uncirculated conditions. Some coins from 1942 were mismarked with the 2 in the year stamped over a 1. Values for this rare dime range from $625 in F-12 condition to between $1,000 and $2,000 for AU-50. All values as of 2009.
Storing the Collection
- Invest in three-hole sheets and cardboard flips for storing coins, and hard plastic holders for the most valuable coins. For most of your Mercury dimes, you can put them in the flip, fold the flip over the coin and staple it together. Next, put the flip in the sheet and put the sheet in a three-ring binder (the sheets are similar to the ones you might use for a baseball card collection, but are made to hold the cardboard flips or hard plastic holders.)

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