Mercury Dime Value Chart: Every Date From 1916 to 1945

The dates to check first

These are the lowest-mintage Mercury dimes struck for circulation. If you're sorting a jar or an inherited collection, pull these dates out before anything else and check the mint mark carefully.

1. 1916-D Mercury Dime: 264,000 made.
2. 1921-D Mercury Dime: 1,080,000 made.
3. 1921 Mercury Dime: 1,230,000 made.
4. 1931-D Mercury Dime: 1,260,000 made.
5. 1926-S Mercury Dime: 1,520,000 made.
6. 1931-S Mercury Dime: 1,800,000 made.

Every mercury dime by date and mint

Click any date for its full page: how many were made, the mint mark location, varieties and what to check. Mint marks matter: the same year can be common from one mint and scarce from another.

The series in 7 stages

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.

War years and heavy output (1917 to 1920)

With the United States drawn into the First World War, demand for small change jumped. The three mints struck 307,166,800 Mercury dimes dated 1917 to 1920, with Philadelphia alone producing 55,230,000 in 1917 and 59,030,000 in 1920. Denver and San Francisco each added between about 8.8 and 27.3 million a year. The smallest figure of the era is the 1919-S at 8,850,000, still a big number by the standards of the 1920s. The 1917-D, at 9,402,000, is a little scarcer than its neighbors in better grades.

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 late 1920s and the Depression (1926 to 1931)

Philadelphia struck between 19,480,000 and 32,160,000 dimes a year from 1926 to 1929, while Denver and San Francisco usually made between about 4.2 and 7.4 million each. The exception is the 1926-S. San Francisco produced only 1,520,000 that year, the smallest mintage of the decade after the 1921 issues. Most survivors are worn and softly struck. It is a semi-key and scarce in any grade above Fine.

A pause, then recovery (1932 to 1937)

With the Depression at its worst, no dimes were struck in 1932 or 1933. Coinage resumed in 1934 at Philadelphia (24,080,000) and Denver (6,772,000) and San Francisco rejoined in 1935 with 15,840,000. Output climbed quickly after that. Philadelphia made 58,830,000 in 1935 and 87,500,000 in 1936, the highest Mercury dime figure up to that time. The three mints together struck 309,587,000 dimes dated 1934 to 1937.

Prewar abundance (1938 to 1941)

Mintages kept rising as the economy recovered and defense spending grew. Philadelphia struck 22,190,000 dimes in 1938, then 67,740,000 in 1939, 65,350,000 in 1940 and 175,090,000 in 1941. Denver and San Francisco followed the same curve, from 5,537,000 for the 1938-D to more than 43 million each in 1941. In all, the three mints made 510,413,000 Mercury dimes dated 1938 to 1941.

Wartime records, the overdates and the last year (1942 to 1945)

World War II pushed dime production to record levels. Philadelphia struck 205,410,000 in 1942 and 231,410,000 in 1944, the highest mintage of the series. The three mints together made 1,223,928,000 Mercury dimes dated 1942 to 1945. Even the smallest issue of the era, the 1945-D, came to 40,245,000. Unlike the nickel, the dime kept its 90% silver alloy throughout the war.

Decade by decade

• 1910s: 12 issues, 248 million coins. Scarcest: 1916-D (264,000).
• 1920s: 25 issues, 370 million coins. Scarcest: 1921-D (1,080,000).
• 1930s: 22 issues, 463 million coins. Scarcest: 1931-D (1,260,000).
• 1940s: 18 issues, 1.6 billion coins. Scarcest: 1940-D (21,198,000).

Where to find the mint mark

• 1916 to 1945: On the reverse, to the left of the base of the fasces. Philadelphia dimes have no mint mark.

Identifying and grading Mercury dimes

Look at the hair above Liberty's forehead and the bands across the fasces. Fully split, rounded center bands ("Full Bands") bring large premiums.

Weinman's Liberty faces left in a close-fitting Phrygian cap with small wings, which he meant as a symbol of liberty of thought, not a portrait of the god Mercury. LIBERTY arcs over her head, IN GOD WE TRUST sits in small letters below her chin at the lower left and the date is at the lower right. His AW monogram appears between the date and the Y of LIBERTY. The reverse shows a fasces, a bundle of rods wrapped around an ax blade and tied with bands, with an olive branch for peace curling around it. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA runs along the top, ONE DIME across the bottom and E PLURIBUS UNUM at the right. The mint mark, when there is one, sits at the lower left of the fasces. The coin is 17.9 mm across with a reeded edge.

What the value bands mean

• Face value: worth its face in worn condition; only uncirculated coins and varieties carry a premium.
• Metal value: worth its silver content in worn condition.
• Small premium: sells for a little over face or metal value even when worn.
• Collector premium: scarcer than usual, so worn coins sell well above face or metal value.
• Significant rarity: a key date, valuable in any condition and often faked.

Bands describe a coin in ordinary circulated condition. An uncirculated coin with full original luster sits a band or more higher. Recognized varieties can be worth far more than the date itself.