Mercury Dime (1916–1945)

Specifications

Denomination: 10 cents
Series: Mercury Dime
Designer: Adolph A. Weinman
Engraver: Adolph A. Weinman
Years of issue: 1916–1945
Composition: 90% Silver, 10% Copper
Weight: 2.5 g
Diameter: 17.9 mm
Edge: Reeded
KM: KM-140

Melt value: $4.66silver $64.40/ozt · prices as of Sep 16, 2026

Public domain, U.S. Mint design. Mercury dime type example.

Officially the Winged Liberty Head dime — a Renaissance of American coinage whose 'Mercury' wings fooled a nation and whose Full Bands are a grading obsession.

History

Designed by sculptor Adolph Alexander Weinman as part of the 1916 renaissance of U.S. silver coinage, alongside his Walking Liberty half dollar; struck 1916–1945 and replaced by the Roosevelt dime in 1946 after FDR’s death (PCGS, accessed 2026-09-16).
The obverse shows Liberty wearing a winged Phrygian cap — the wings symbolize ‘Liberty of Thought.’ The public mistook the figure for the Roman god Mercury, and the nickname stuck (APMEX, accessed 2026-09-16).
Weinman is believed to have modeled Liberty on Elsie Stevens, wife of the poet and lawyer Wallace Stevens (Pristine Auction, accessed 2026-09-16).
The reverse pairs a fasces (bundle of rods with an axe — symbolizing unity and strength) with an olive branch (peace); later generations unfairly associated the fasces with fascism, though Weinman’s design predates that association (APMEX, accessed 2026-09-16).
Full Bands (FB) is the premium strike designation: it requires the middle set of bands binding the fasces to show a complete split — proof of a sharp strike that is genuinely rare on many dates, especially branch-mint issues (PCGS, accessed 2026-09-16).
Proof Mercury dimes were struck only 1936–1942 at Philadelphia (streetdirectory.com, accessed 2026-09-16).
A 2016 centennial gold commemorative (1/10 oz .9999 gold, 16.5 mm) re-issued Weinman’s design — the most popular of the three 2016 gold centennials (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16).

Key dates and varieties

1916-D — mintage 264,000, the undisputed key date of the series (APMEX, accessed 2026-09-16).
1921 — mintage 1,230,000 and 1921-D — mintage 1,080,000, the semi-keys; the 1921-D is the second-lowest-mintage Mercury dime (Littleton Coin, accessed 2026-09-16).
1926-S — widely collected better date with a 1,520,000 mintage, tough with Full Bands (Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16).
1942/1 (P) — the famous overdate (properly 1942/41), produced at Philadelphia and Denver (1942/1-D); in 2010 an MS66FB example brought $63,250 (Greysheet, accessed 2026-09-16).
1931-D (1,260,000) and 1931-S (1,800,000) — Depression-era low mintages, with San Francisco dime production halted late in 1931 by a Mint directive (Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16).
1945 (P) with Full Bands — common by mintage but nearly impossible truly well struck, so FB examples command major premiums (PCGS, accessed 2026-09-16).

Specifications

Weight: 2.50 g (38.58 grains) (streetdirectory.com / Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16).
Composition: 90% silver, 10% copper; actual silver weight 0.07234 troy oz (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16).
Diameter: 17.91 mm; edge: reeded (118 reeds) (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16).
Designer: Adolph Alexander Weinman (obverse and reverse) (PCGS, accessed 2026-09-16).
Mintmarks: D and S on reverse between the E in ONE and the olive branch; Philadelphia coins have no mintmark (Wikipedia, accessed 2026-09-16).

Collector notes

Grading quirk: buy the strike, not just the grade — FB adds substantial premiums, and early branch-mint coins are often softly struck even in high Mint State (PCGS, accessed 2026-09-16).
Authentication: the 1916-D is one of the most faked U.S. coins, typically an added mintmark on a 1916 Philadelphia; buy certified and check the mintmark position and style (Numismatic News, accessed 2026-09-16).
For the 1942/1, the Philadelphia variety shows dramatic naked-eye doubling (technically 1942/41) while the Denver is subtler and needs a loupe — know which diagnostic matches the mint (vocal.media / Greysheet, accessed 2026-09-16).
Market guidance: common-date circulated Mercury dimes trade on silver content (about 0.0723 oz each); FB premiums only apply to certified Mint State coins (APMEX, accessed 2026-09-16).
Watch for the 1945 Micro S variety — a smaller S mintmark on many 1945-S dimes that sells for a slight premium (streetdirectory.com, accessed 2026-09-16).