The Mercury Dime, also known as the Winged Liberty Head, is admired and coveted by many collectors.
The Mercury Dime was issued in 1916 to replace the Barber dime and continued in use until 1945. It was replaced by the Roosevelt dime in 1946.
The figure on the coin's face is often thought to depict Mercury, the Roman messenger god. But it is actually Liberty wearing a winged cap, a symbol of freedom of thought.
On the reverse side is a birch-wrapped ax called a fasces and an olive branch. The two together are seen to represent America's desire for peace and readiness for war. The fasces later became a symbol of Mussolini's Fascist Party, which stirred up some controversy for the Mercury Dime!
Rare Mercury Dimes:
- 1916-D: Denver Mint made only 264,000 that year, making it the only coin to mint less than a million.
- 1921
- 1921-D
- 1942/1 Overdate
The Enduring Appeal of The Mercury Dime
The Mercury Dime was 90% silver and 10% copper edge. It is often said that if the Mercury Dime was the size of a silver dollar it would be the most popular minted coin, combining beauty with physical heft.
The Mercury Dime remained in circulation well into the '60s. But these days, it's a challenge to find Mercury Dimes with great tone and luster.
At PC Coins, we have premium, blast white examples and even a few harder-to-find Mercury Dimes.
See Our Mercury Dime Collection Here |
