1916 Mercury Dime

The story of the 1916

1916 was the first year of the Mercury Dime. Philadelphia struck 22,180,080 of them. In 1917 the figure was 55 million.

It was the big producer of the year, well ahead of 1916-D (264,000) and 1916-S (10 million).

Across Philadelphia's 27 Mercury Dime issues, the hardest to find is the 1921 with 1,230,000 made. The 1916 is on the scarcer side of the middle. Within the 1910s it's 7th smallest of 12, between the 1918-S (19 million) and the 1918-D (23 million).

More on the 1916

Philadelphia's 22,180,080 dimes of 1916 were the first Mercury dimes anyone saw. Striking began at the end of the summer, paused while Weinman lowered the relief to satisfy makers of vending machines and pay telephones, then resumed in October. The coins went into circulation on October 30, 1916. Philadelphia's output that year was more than double San Francisco's and about 84 times Denver's.

A 1916 with no mint mark is the common version, but it is also the coin counterfeiters start from when they fake the 1916-D. So if you see a 1916 dime with a D, treat it with caution. If yours has no letter at all, you have the ordinary Philadelphia coin. Worn pieces trade near metal value, while bright uncirculated coins of the first year bring a small premium and full-band examples more. Check the hair curls above Liberty's forehead and the bands on the fasces for wear. Be wary of shiny coins that have been cleaned to look new. A first-year Mercury dime is a natural starting point for a set even though it is not scarce.

1916: a new dime and the Denver key (1916)

Adolph A. Weinman's Winged Liberty Head dime replaced Charles Barber's design in 1916, one of three new silver designs that year. Striking began at Philadelphia late that summer, but makers of vending machines and pay telephones soon complained that the first coins gave trouble in their equipment, largely because of a raised fin at the rim. Weinman lowered the relief and pulled LIBERTY away from the edge. The revised dime reached the public on October 30, 1916.

All three mints struck the new design. Philadelphia made 22,180,080 and San Francisco 10,450,000, but Denver turned out only 264,000. The usual explanation is that Denver was busy with quarters. Its first delivery of dimes was not made until December 29, so the 1916-D only reached circulation in 1917. Few were saved, most survivors are well worn and it is the key to the series. It is also one of the most counterfeited US coins, usually by adding a D to a genuine Philadelphia dime of the same year.

If you have a 1916 dime, the mint mark decides almost everything. Look on the reverse at the lower left of the fasces. No letter means Philadelphia, S means San Francisco and only a D means the key. Check any D under magnification for a seam around its edges or a shape that sits oddly in the field. Even a worn genuine 1916-D carries a collector premium, while the 1916 and 1916-S are ordinary first-year coins.

Elsewhere in US coinage in 1916

A new generation of silver designs arrived: the Mercury dime, the Standing Liberty quarter and the Walking Liberty half dollar. The first Standing Liberty quarters were struck in very small numbers late in the year.