1923 Mercury Dime

The story of the 1923

Philadelphia hadn't struck the Mercury Dime since 1921. When it came back in 1923, it made 50,130,000. In 1924 the figure was 24 million.

It was the big producer of the year, well ahead of 1923-S (6.4 million).

Across Philadelphia's 27 Mercury Dime issues, the hardest to find is the 1921 with 1,230,000 made. The 1923 is one of the easier ones. Within the 1920s it's 24th smallest of 25, between the 1926 (32 million) and the 1920 (59 million).

More on the 1923

Philadelphia struck 50,130,000 dimes in 1923 as production restarted after the empty year of 1922. San Francisco added 6,440,000. Denver made none, which is the most useful fact to know about this date: any Mercury dime dated 1923 with a D mint mark is a counterfeit, not a rarity.

Counterfeit 1923-D dimes were made with false dies, so they can look convincing at first glance. If you find one, compare its weight with a known genuine dime of 2.5 grams and look at the overall detail, but the date and mint mark alone settle the question. A genuine 1923 Philadelphia dime is common and trades at metal value when worn. Uncirculated pieces bring a small premium. Full-band examples bring more. Because 1922 has no dimes at all, the 1923 is also the coin that fills the gap in an album page that jumps from 1921 to 1923. Many beginners wonder whether a page is missing a hole. It is not; the Mint simply struck no dimes in 1922.

A slump, a missing year and the 1921 semi-keys (1921 to 1925)

After the war the economy turned down and the Mint had plenty of dimes on hand. Silver was also going into Morgan dollars under the Pittman Act. Philadelphia struck just 1,230,000 dimes in 1921 and Denver 1,080,000, down from 59 million and 19 million the year before. San Francisco made none. No dimes at all were struck in 1922, the first year without them in nearly a century.

The 1921 and 1921-D are the semi-keys of the series. Few were set aside when new, so most survivors are heavily worn and uncirculated pieces are scarce. Production resumed in 1923 with 50,130,000 at Philadelphia and 6,440,000 at San Francisco. Denver struck no dimes that year, so a 1923-D Mercury dime is a counterfeit, whatever its condition. From 1924 all three mints were active again, with the branch mints making between about 5.1 and 7.1 million each and Philadelphia about 24 to 26 million.

Even a well-worn 1921 or 1921-D with a readable date carries a collector premium, so a coin with a clear date and full rims deserves a careful look before it goes in a pile of common silver. The branch mint coins of 1924 and 1925 are easy to find in worn grades but are often softly struck, which makes sharp uncirculated pieces with full bands difficult. The 1925-D, at 5,117,000, is the lowest mintage of those years.