#1 Mercury Dime Buyer Las Vegas & Henderson

History

Because of the general unpopularity of the Barber dime design, it was replaced by what was hoped to be a more popular design. The new design chosen is generally referred to as the Mercury dime. The term Mercury associated with the new design referred to the headdress worn by the Liberty image since it has what appears to be a winged helmet similar to the god Mercury of Roman mythology. While most people associate Mercury with speed, he is also the god of trade, which would be appropriate for a coin used in commerce. However, the image is actually that of Liberty wearing the winged headpiece, but because the image appears similar to that of Mercury from mythology, the name stuck. The series began in 1916 and continued through 1945. The Mercury dimes were minted in the Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco mints. The obverse or front of the coin displays an image of the bust of Liberty wearing the aforementioned winged headpiece. The word “Liberty” surrounds her head and the motto, “In God We Trust”, appears below her chin. The date of mintage appears below Liberty’s neck. The reverse of the coin displays a “fasces” or bundle of wooden rods, including an axe with the blade emerging and is meant to symbolize strength through unity. The faces is intertwined with an olive branch. The motto, “E Pluribus Unum”, appears to the right of the faces. “United States Of America”, encircles the faces. The mintmarks appear to the bottom left of the faces. The denomination is spelled out as “Dime” and appears along the edge and to the bottom right of the faces. The Mercury dime weighs 2.50 grams and is composed of 90% silver and 10% copper. The diameter of the coin is 17.9 mm.

The Mercury dime series is very popular with collectors, both because of the appealing image of Liberty as the god, Mercury, but also because it is a fairly easy series to collect in its entirety. The faces image, unique to the Mercury dime, is especially desirable when the “full bands”, which surround the bundle of rods, are clearly visible and collectors will pay a premium for this feature. With the exception of three key-date coins, it is not particularly difficult to complete a collection of the series.

Most common dates in the series particularly from the later years, in well circulated condition, can be purchased for about $3.00 to $4.00, however values for these same coins can reach anywhere from $25 to $500 in high mint state. Key date coins in the series can reach from a few thousand dollars to over $25,000 for the 1916 D in gem mint state.

Value

Since these coins have a high silver content, they are referred to as “constitutional” or “junk” silver and raw, ungraded examples have been sold and melted down just for the silver content making it possible that some coins may actually be more rare than their mintages would reflect. However, extremely poor, worn example coins may not have any appreciable collector value and so are likely only worth the current value, (or “spot price”) reflected by their silver content.

There are many varied opinions on the condition (or grade) of a coin, and the aforementioned values reflect the highest retail prices that have been obtained for those coins that have been assessed by a third party grading company. Such coins have been authenticated, graded and encapsulated by expert coin grading companies to minimize any doubt as to their quality and value and therefore their potential worth.

We Buy Mercury Dimes

We would like to buy your coins and as a business it is our pledge to offer you the best value for them, however, always remember that the prices you may find online or in price guides usually represent the highest retail value for the coin in an already certified condition. As a trusted dealer we will have our coin specialists evaluate your coins at no cost and offer you a price that is both fair for you, but that also allows us to realize a reasonable profit.