USA 1 dime Mercury 1920
USA, San Francisco
Rarity
Common
Attributes of Coins
| Region | USA |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 dime |
| Krause number | KM# 140 |
| Mintage | 13,820,000 |
| 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
The mintage of dimes rose at the San Francisco Mint from the previous year and collided with a two-year recession that arrived in 1921. Many of the dimes dated 1920-S thus remained idle in vaults for a long while, and production of this denomination did not resume at the SFM until the closing months of 1923. As with all S-Mint coins from the 1920s, this issue was widely hoarded by collectors from circulation a generation or so later, and examples grading VF and lower are quite plentiful. Mint State coins are scarce, with gems being genuinely rare. Most 1920-S dimes were poorly struck from very worn and/or clashed dies. In his book The Complete Guide to Mercury Dimes, David W. Lange observes that while Full Band examples make up a fair percentage of the surviving Mint State population, "ones having both full bands and a sharp date are indeed rare, since numeral 0 is often indistinct." This phenomenon of coins that are sharp at their centers and weak at their peripheries should remind collectors to not rely too heavily on the FB designation to represent a coin that is well struck overall.Read More
