Mercury Dime (1916–1945)

The Mercury dime is one of the most admired small coins the United States has made, and one of the most popular series to collect by date. It is 90% silver, it circulated heavily for three decades, and it contains a famous key date, the 1916-D, along with a pair of wartime overdates.

Below: the history and design, how to grade it using the fasces on the reverse, the dates that matter, and how Mercury dimes trade on Changes Hands.

Quick facts

Years	1916–1945
Designer	Adolph A. Weinman
Denomination	10 cents
Composition	90% silver, 10% copper (0.0723 troy oz silver)
Weight	2.50 g
Diameter	17.91 mm
Mints	Philadelphia (no mint mark), Denver (D), San Francisco (S); mint mark on the reverse left of the fasces base
Edge	Reeded

History: Liberty with wings, not Mercury

In 1916 the Mint replaced Charles Barber's dime, quarter and half dollar, which had circulated since 1892. Adolph A. Weinman, a German-born sculptor, won the commissions for both the dime and the half dollar. His dime shows Liberty in a winged cap, the wings meant to stand for freedom of thought. The public saw the Roman messenger god instead, and the name Mercury dime stuck.

The design ran until 1945. After President Franklin D. Roosevelt died that year, the dime was chosen to honor him, and the Roosevelt dime replaced Weinman's design in 1946.

The fasces reverse

The reverse shows a fasces, a bundle of rods bound around an axe, beside an olive branch. In 1916 it was a classical symbol of unity and strength, paired with olive for peace. Bands wrap the rods diagonally and cross them horizontally at the top, middle and bottom. Those bands are the key to grading, and in uncirculated coins the central horizontal bands decide whether a coin earns the Full Bands designation.

How to grade a Mercury dime

On the obverse, wear shows first on the hair above the forehead, the upper edge of the wing and the cheek. On the reverse, the fasces tells most of the story. Under the Changes Hands Grading Standard each band requires, on both sides:

Good: full date and mint mark readable; portrait, wing and fasces outlined, with the rods mostly flat.
Very Good: at least half the vertical rods discernible and some feather outlines at the bottom of the wing.
Fine: all vertical rods visible; the diagonal bands present but worn nearly flat; wing feathers partly separated.
Very Fine: diagonal bands fully visible and continuous across the fasces; most wing feathers separated.
Extremely Fine: sharp diagonal bands, distinct rods and wear confined to the hair, cheek and top of the wing.

Full Bands and condition rarities

PCGS and NGC add FB (Full Bands) to uncirculated Mercury dimes when the central horizontal bands are fully split and rounded. Many dates are common in Mint State but scarce with full bands. The 1945 Philadelphia dime is the classic example: plentiful as a coin, but rarely found with fully separated bands. Changes Hands never assigns Full Bands; such coins are referred for certification.

Problems and fakes

The 1916-D is the most counterfeited US dime, usually a Philadelphia 1916 with a D added. Check the D's shape and position against genuine examples and look for a seam or disturbed metal around it. High-grade coins are often cleaned or whizzed to fake luster; true luster rolls around the coin as you tilt it, while cleaned surfaces look flat or show fine parallel lines.

On worn coins, check the date and mint mark before anything else. The date sits low on the obverse and the mint mark is small, so on heavily circulated dimes either can be uncertain. A coin whose date cannot be read with confidence is not placed in a dated pool; it goes to bulk, where it trades on its silver content.

Buying and selling Mercury dimes on Changes Hands

Common dates trade in interchangeable house-graded pools from Good through Very Fine and About Uncirculated. Keys trade by date: the 1921 in house Good, the 1921-D in house Good, the 1926-S in house Good and the 1916-D certified PCGS G4. There is also a 1945 PCGS MS66 Full Bands book. Worn dimes with weak dates go to the cull bulk class, and heavily worn common dates can also trade as 90% silver dimes.

Buyers pay no fees, and sellers pay 3% plus a one-time grading fee when the coin sells. Read the grading standard for the full criteria.

Key dates

Date	Why it matters
1916-D	Only 264,000 struck, most of which circulated hard. The key of the series and the most faked.
1921 and 1921-D	Low-mintage postwar-recession years, scarce in every grade.
1926-S	A semi-key San Francisco issue, often weakly struck.
1942/1 and 1942/1-D	Overdates from dies hubbed with both a 1941 and 1942 hub. Clearly visible on the Philadelphia coin; attribute both with references.
1919-D, 1919-S, 1920-D and 1931-D	Semi-keys that become scarce in Very Fine and better.

Mercury Dime markets

Frequently asked questions

Is a Mercury dime real silver?

Yes. Every Mercury dime is 90% silver and 10% copper, containing about 0.0723 troy ounces of silver. That metal content sets a floor under even the most worn common dates.

Which Mercury dimes are worth the most?

The 1916-D is the key, followed by the 1921, 1921-D and the 1942/1 overdates. The 1926-S, 1919-D, 1919-S and 1931-D are semi-keys. Among common dates, uncirculated coins with Full Bands can carry large premiums. This is general information, not investment advice.

Why is it called a Mercury dime?

Because the winged cap on Liberty reminded people of the Roman god Mercury. Its official name is the Winged Liberty Head dime, and the wings were meant to represent freedom of thought.

What does FB mean on a Mercury dime?

FB stands for Full Bands, a designation from PCGS and NGC for uncirculated dimes whose central horizontal bands on the fasces are fully split and rounded. It indicates an exceptionally strong strike.

Where is the mint mark on a Mercury dime?

On the reverse, near the bottom, just to the left of the base of the fasces. Philadelphia dimes have no mint mark.