Mercury Dime Collectors

Hi Shatsi

Merc's are my passion !!! its not really that bad to put togehter an UNC collection minus the keys,those in unc are about a years wages each !!

look for dimes with a natural appearance, check them carefully for cleaning with a pretty strong loop,hairlines, clean fields with a dark or mint luster around the devices is a no no !!

Full bands on the torch in a higher grade are what you are looking for, in slabbed examples these can range from 30 bucks well into the hundreds, but raw can be had at very reasonalbe prices if your selective and shrewed!!

I will post a pic or two when I get back from the Hospital, taking my wife in for some screening tests !

Rick

Hi Shasti,

I have collected Merc's for years and really love the design. Do you know what all the symbols on the dime mean.?

Instead of using the RedBook fro a price guide I would recommend you use the monthly supplement that comes in " Coin World". A lot of the forum member subscribe to this paper as it provides a wealth of information to the collector. Maybe you should look into it unless you are already subcribing.

catman

This information is paraphrased from the Breen Enclyclopedia of US coins:

The Winged Liberty dime was designed by Adolph Weinman. Many people mistook the design of Lady Liberty with a winged cap as the Roman god Mercury. This is why it's often referred to as the Mercury dime.

The Roman fasces on the reverse is believed to be symbolic of the United States' entry into WWII. The design has an executioner's axe bound within a group a rods. This is commonly interpreted as "the power of life or death"; in practice, it means the power to kill or to make one's victim wish he were dead. In ancient Roman law, it meant the power to kill mercifully by a blade or mercilessly by the rods. It is felt that the symbolic message that Weinman was trying to express was something like, "The USA can instantly punish with any penalty up to and including death, therefore beware, enemies of liberty!".

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Originally posted by shatsi
how expensive it would be to have an unc collection going?

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Currently a full date/mintmark set with the major varieties of 1942/41 and 1942/41-D and 1945 Micro S would set you back roughly $22,000.00

Now if you build a set of VG to Fine, you would look at something near $2200.

One key part of assembling a set is a uniform appearance. Too often collectors will put UNC coins mixed with low grades and the set looks a bit off.

There are 5 key coins in the Merc series.

1916-D
1921-P
1921-D
1942/41
1942/41-D

In grades of VG to Fine the varieties are actually rather cheap.

$460 to $500 for the 1942/41 and "D"

The 16-D jumps considerably in Fine at $1800 to $1900 but in VG this coin is still about a grand.

Don't worry about it Rick, I'm not in a hurry.

Beautiful coins Jerry, thank you.

Hi Shatsi

Sorry for the delay !!

But I'm grateful for having to get these out!!

The 1935 did not have the black spot on its cheek when it was put away!!

anyways 1935 and 36 both full band .

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and one with a little color just for fun

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Rick