USA 1 dime Mercury 1916
USA, Denver
Rarity
Scarce
Attributes of Coins
| Region | USA |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 dime |
| Krause number | KM# 140 |
| Mintage | 264,000 |
| Metal | Silver 0.900 |
| thickness | 1.3 mm |
| diameter | 17.91 mm |
| weight | 2.5 g |
Obverse:
Liberty
Description:
Phrygian cap
Creators:
Adolph Alexander Weinman (WA)
IN GOD WE TRUST
LIBERTY
WA
Reverse:
Liberty
Plant
Description:
FascesOlive branch
Creators:
Adolph Alexander Weinman (WA)
E PLURIBUS UNUM
ONE DIME
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Introduction of Coins
This issue has the lowest mintage of any coin in the Winged Liberty Head "Mercury" Dime series. It has therefore gained a mythic reputation as a rarity, when in fact the supply of circulated examples is quite sufficient to meet demand. Mint State specimens would have been great rarities were it not for the hoarding that accompanies all first-year-of-issue coins. It's likely that many persons who saved a fresh example of the new dime had no idea that they were preserving what would become a very low mintage issue. Shortly after the Denver Mint began production of the new dimes an order was received to suspend this coinage and concentrate on quarter dollars for the remainder of the year, as there existed a great demand for that denomination. Since dies for the new Standing Liberty type weren't ready yet, the Denver Mint struck millions of Charles Barber's old Liberty Head quarters. 1916-D dimes typically are well struck, with good luster and only occasional weakness in their central portions. Thus, most certified Mint State pieces have Full Bands (FB), these being the horizontal pair at the center of the fasces. Ideally, such coins should also be complete at the lower diagonal band, as this is sometimes weakly struck on Mercury Dimes. Four reverse dies are known for this issue, and two of these feature repunched mintmarks. Due to the high cost of 1916-D dimes in any grade, there has been no interest shown in these varieties, aside from their utility in authentication. This is an important consideration, since the application of a D mintmark to 1916(P) dimes has been a cottage industry for decades. Less common, but also known, are coins that have had their S mintmarks reshaped into a letter D. Professional authentication is thus mandatory in the purchase of any 1916-D dime.Read More
