Winged Liberty or Mercury Dime

1916 – 1945
The Winged Liberty dime was designed by Adolph A. Weinman and first minted in 1916. This U.S. coin was minted of 90% silver and 10% copper. The Winged Liberty Dime is commonly known as the Mercury Dime. It is assumed that the obverse of the coin depicts the Roman god Mercury but it is actually Lady Liberty with wings on. Behind Lady Liberty’s neck is a “W” for the designer Adolph A. Weinman.
Common date “Mercury” dimes in average circulated grades can often be obtained very near to the spot value of their silver content. In fact the Winged Liberty and the Roosevelt dimes are among the best forms of silver that you can get. They are recognized and trusted for their silver content all around the world.

As I write this silver is at about $35.00 per ounce (See Silver Spot Value Up Over 200%). This means that a 90% silver dime holds around $2.52 worth of silver!
There is also 0.25 grams of copper in each Mercury (or Roosevelt) dime which adds to the value. In recent years copper prices have been steadily on the rise which makes silver coins an even better investment (Investing In Silver With Coin Collecting and Save Those Copper Pennies!).

One of the most sought after Winged Liberty dime is the 1916-D. The Denver Mint struck Barber dimes for most of the year and only minted 264,000 of the “Mercury Dimes”. As with most things that are valuable you have to be careful for counterfeits. Unscrupulous dealers and traders have altered common 1916 dimes by adding a “D”.
Because of the great detail in the reverse design of of the “Mercury” noticeable defects are common. In the center of the fasces are two horizontal bands, there is supposed to be a line to separate these bands but it is often faint or missing all together.
Specimens with a “full split band” can be difficult to find and often demand much higher prices. This is especially true for dimes struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1945 which rarely include “full split bands”.

There was also an over dated error produced at the Philadelphia Mint which occurred when “1942” was struck over top a 1941 die. That same year a similar over date was issued from the Denver Mint.
Winged Liberty Dime Specifications:

• Designer: Adolph A. Weinman
• Diameter: 17.9 mm
• Weight: 2.50 g
• Composition: 90% silver, 10% copper
• Edge: Reeded
• Net Weight: 2.25 g pure silver

By D. Slone, Copyright 2011 CoinCollectorGuide.com
Winged Liberty Dime “Mercury” Dime Mintage Numbers

1916 —— 22,180,080 1916-D —- 264,000 1916-S —- 10,450,000 1917 —— 55,230,000 1917-D —- 9,402,000 1917-S —- 27,330,000 1918 —— 26,680,000 1918-D —- 22,674,800 1918-S —-19,300,000 1919 —— 35,740,000 1919-D —- 9,939,000 1919-S —- 8,850,000 1920 —— 59,030,000 1920-D —- 19,171,000 1920-S —- 13,820,000 1921 —— 1,230,000 1921-D —- 1,080,000 1923 —— 50,130,000 1923-S —- 6,440,000 1924 —— 24,010,000 1924-D —- 6,810,000 1924-S —- 7,120,000 1925 —— 25,610,000 1925-D —- 5,117,000 1925-S —- 5,850,000

1926 —— 32,160,000 1926-D —- 6,828,000 1926-S —- 1,520,000 1927 —— 28,080,000 1927-D —- 4,812,000 1927-S —- 4,770,000 1928 —— 19,480,000 1928-D —- 4,161,000 1928-S —- 7,400,000 1929 —— 25,970,000 1929-D —- 5,034,000 1929-S —- 4,730,000 1930 —— 6,770,000 1930-S —- 1,843,000 1931 —— 3,150,000 1931-D —- 1,260,000 1931-S —- 1,800,000 1934 —— 24,080,000 1934-D —- 6,772,000 1935 —— 58,830,000 1935-D — 10,477,000 1935-S —- 15,840,000 1936 —— 87,500,000 1936-D — 16,132,000 1936-S—- 9,210,000

1937 —— 56,860,000 1937-D —- 14,146,000 1937-S —- 9,740,000 1938 —— 22,190,000 1938-D —- 5,537,000 1938-S —- 8,090,000 1939 —— 67,740,000 1939-D —- 24,394,000 1939-S —- 10,540,000 1940 —— 65,350,000 1940-D —- 21,198,000 1940-S —- 21,560,000 1941 —— 175,090,000 1941-D —- 45,634,000 1941-S —- 43,090,000 1942 —— 205,410,000 1942-D —- 60,740,000 1942-S —- 49,300,000 1943 —— 191,710,000 1943-D —- 71,949,000 1943-S —- 60,400,000 1944 —— 231,410,000 1944-D —- 62,224,000 1944-S —- 49,490,000 1945 —— 159,130,000 1945-D —- 40,245,000 1945-S —- 41,290,000