Prior to minting the long lasting design of the Roosevelt Dime in 1946, The United States Mint produced the Mercury Dime, which ran from 1916 to 1945. The Mercury Dime was only ever minted with 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper, unlike the Roosevelt Dime which made a transition into a copper-nickel alloy from 90 percent silver in 1965.
The Mercury Dime, or the mint designation of “Winged Liberty” Dime, began it’s run in 1916, a transitional year in which both the Mercury Dime and The Barber Dime were produced. The 1916 Mercury Dime as well as the 1916 S Mercury Dime are well populated coins, however, the 1916 D Mercury Dime happens to be the most sought after Mercury Dime in the entire series.
There are few other key dates in the Mercury Dime series, as most Mercury Dime coins were heavily minted and well used throughout their run. Then, as it is now, the Mercury Dime is one of the most popular United States coins and, with its aesthetic appeal, the Mercury Dime will continue to be appreciated for many generations of coin collectors to come. However, this numismatic appeal does not really translate into a high value for the common Mercury Dime. Most of the Mercury Dime series trade on the open market for their silver content alone. The vast population of the Mercury Dime, on the whole, leaves little rarity in the set as these coins are easily found in nearly every coin collection, and sometimes can still be spotted in circulation.
The shear volume of the Mercury Dime still available on the open market underscores the value of the vast majority of 20th century silver coins, which mostly trade for just their weight in silver. And since silver is considerably higher now than it was even just a few years ago, the Mercury Dime is one of many coins whose numismatic value has been long since eclipsed by its silver content value.
Unless you can find a Mercury Dime with a better date or key date that remains in brilliant uncirculated condition, or close to it, consider your coin a bullion investment piece. At Nevada Coin & Jewelry, our numismatic and bullion experts can evaluate any Mercury Dime in your collection at no cost to you. We can quickly and accurately determine if your Mercury Dime is one of the rare key dates or if your Mercury Dime is in a condition that qualifies as brilliant uncirculated. And, we provide the highest cash offers for your Mercury Dime. After being a well respected member of the business community of Las Vegas for over 30 years, our coin professionals have accumulated significant experience in evaluating the Mercury Dime.
