What To Do With Duplicate Mercury Dimes

In 1916, people didn't collect by MM. They kept a nice looking 1916P, and that was it.

The VDB was new to folks who didn't realize their pockets were full of coins with a designer's initial. The Buffalo was a whole new design. The Merrcury wasn't that different from the Barber.

It's a shame that the same "reasoning" won't apply to "todays coins" !.......

The reason more poor conditioned coins are available is because they were probably distroyed. For one thing a long time ago many people could not afford to collect Dimes. Quarters were way to expensive and a half dollar ment you were rich, slight exageration. As kids most never looked looked at the dates on coins, none knew what a mint mark ment and could care less.
Way back we used coins for more important things than collecting. I was a little of an exception. Kids placed them on RR tracks, spent them at a place called Riverview amusement park, place on something called Street Car tracks (before most people's time), threw them into the Chicago River, threw them into wishing wells, shot at them with air and real guns, used them in all kinds of vending machines (recently invented I think), melted them with acid from your Dads car battery and so many other things of fun. There was a game where kids lined up to toss a pennie at the dividing line between the concrete slabs on sidewalks. Two lines away. The closest coin won all the others. No one ever said "wait, this is 09S". Probably would have been kicked or something as a wierdo. One friend of mine would constantly run a knife accross the face of any coin to see if in the future he would get it back.
I sometimes wonder how any coins survived us at all.

AHHH, you made me go look. Most of my sets of those are in safe deposit boxes but I usually keep sets #9 nad #10 here for comparisons. The two in there are probably VG-8. Those are the two worst of the 10 though. One was actually about a EF-40 or better in set #1. Again, remember that back then there was only G, F, Unc and proof. Usually not even a VG was used back then. No -numbers either so when I bought those they were probably just Dimes. Remember even the Red Book didn't come out until 1947.
Really difficult to remember but I think back then that coin store only had coins with a date and or mint mark. No such thing as a grade.

As to what you mentioned about the rolls. That is exactly what I have done with the ones from about 39 to 45. And not only by year but by Mints also. The really nice 39's though are in 2x2's but there are numerous rolls from 40 up. This is where it slows me down making additional sets. Open 2 or 3 rolls of 1940D's and finding the best 2 for 2 new sets. There is about 30 rolls of those.
Amaziing thing happened this weekend. As I slowly went through all the duplicates I found there were no 1930S's at all. HUH? Even a spare 42/41, lots of 21, 21D's, etc. but no 30S. Now I have a mission this weekend.
As to my son. I've mentioned in other treads he just dosen't care about coins enough to even consider what to do with them if necessary. I've given him a copy of the Red Book every year and I suspect it is used as a paper weight or to start a fire in his bar-b que grill.

Saturday at my favorite flea market my favorite seller sold me 33 more Mercury dimes for $30. All just plain dates and grades but just can't stop buying those things.

Today, Friday, again at the same flea market another 32 Mercury dimes and for $35. Haven't even looked them yet since they were in Whitman folder. Hope some good ones.