Mercury Dimes: I LOVE "Mercs"

In Roman mythology, Mercury was a messenger. He was the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter. He was the god of trade, profit and commerce. It is from that name that we get the word "merchandise." So it would make perfect sense to put an image of the god of commerce on a coin.

But it's NOT MERCURY who appears on the "Mercury" Dime!

People associated the image on the coin with Mercury because of the wings on the helmet. In actuality, Mercury wore winged sandals, not a winged helmet.

The image on the dime is that of Liberty! According to the coin's designer, Adolph A Weinman (you can see his initials-AW-to the right of Liberty's neck), the wings on the cap were symbolic of freedom of thought! So the more proper name of the coin is the "Winged Liberty Head Dime."

(The belief that the image on the obverse was that of Mercury was enhanced by the image on the reverse of the coin. But we'll talk about that a little further down the page.)

You are probably going to tell me that didn't help very much.

The word fasces is derived from the Latin for "bundle," and that's exactly what a fasces is...a bundle of sticks. The traditional Roman fasces was made of white birch sticks tied together with red leather strips. The symbolism was that while one stick might, in and of itself, be weak and could be easily snapped...when a group of sticks are tied together the resulting whole is much stronger than a single stick. So the fasces is a symbol of strength through unity. Men, when joined together in a group, are far stronger as a whole than any of them would be singly. Often one or more bronze axe blades protruded from the sticks. This was a reference to military power. The fasces was used as a symbol of the Roman Republic, and was carried and displayed in much the same manner that a regimental flag might be carried in the military today.

Never seen one before? One of the insignias of the National Guard includes crossed Fasces on an Eagle. There are two Fasces behind the rostrum in the US House of Representatives.

It really is absolutely amazing what you can learn through coin collecting!

Absolutely! U.S. "Silver" coins minted before 1965 actually contained quite a bit of silver. That means that silver dollars, half dollars, quarters, and dimes all have silver content in them. The Mercury Dime is 90% silver, 10% Copper. During World War II there was a shortage of the metal nickel, so the US Mint made 1943 Buffalo Nickels from silver as well.

A Mercury Dime contains 0.0723 troy ounces of silver. That means that if you wanted to sell the coin to someone who would melt the coin down for its metal value you could earn well above ten cents for the metal alone. (See why they don't make real silver dimes anymore?)

Coinflation.com is a website which has a nice calculator which allows you to see how much the silver in a coin is worth at current silver values.

The value of a coin is based on two factors. The first is how rare the coin is. This is a combination of how many coins were originally minted, and what happened to them. Some are destroyed accidentally. Some have been recalled by the government. Collectors have taken some out of circulation. As a particular type of coin has fewer examples available, it becomes more valuable.

The other factor is the physical condition of a coin. The closer to perfect a specimen is, the more valuable it becomes. So a rare, perfect coin is much more valuable than a common, worn coin.

The American Numismatic has developed a grading system to describe the condition of a coin. What I will discuss here is coins that have been minted to go into general circulation, released. The conditions of the coins are represented by names, as well as a combination of letters and numbers. I have summarized some general conditions here and have indicated some of the more important area of the coin to look at for the Mercury Dime in the various grades.

Perfect Uncirculated (MS-70) This indicates a coin in perfect, new condition. It shows no trace of handling, wear, or contact with other coins. It must have the full mint luster or very light toning.

Gem Uncirculated (MS-65) This is an above average uncirculated coin. It may be brilliant, or it may be lightly toned or light fingermarking. There are very few barely noticeable contact marks either on either surface of the coin or on the rim.

Choice Uncirculated (MS-63) This coin has some distracting contact marks and/or blemishes in the prime focal areas of one or both surfaces. The luster of the coin may be slightly impaired.

Uncirculated (MS-60) This coin has no trace of wear, but it may show several contact marks, and the surface of the coin may lack luster, or even be spotted or toned.

Choice About Uncirculated (AU-55) There is evidence of friction on the high points of the coin's design (the hair above the forehead and in front of the ear on the obverse as well as the horizontal and diagonal lines on the fasces bands), but three quarters of the mint luster remains.

About Uncirculated (AU-50) This coin shows traces of light wear on several of the high points of the coin (The places mentioned above plus the hair along the face. Although wear is more noticeable on the reverse than for AU-55 the edges are still sharply defined.). At least half of the original mint luster is still present.

Choice Extremely Fine (EF-45) The coin exhibits light overall wear on the highest points of the coin. Slight wear is evident at the feather tips and and hairline. On the reverse, the horizontal lines in the fasces are still clearly defined, but the center two may not be clearly separated.) Some of the original mint luster is still evident. All design details are still very clear and sharp.


Extremely Fine (EF-40) There is light wear throughout the design, but all features are still sharp and well-defined. There may be wear on the high points of the upper and lower horizontal bands on the fasces. Although absolutely essential, to the the definition of this grade, some traces of mint luster may still exist.

Choice Very Fine (VF-30) Light, even wear on the surface and highest parts throughout the design. All major features of the design, as well as all lettering remain sharp. The feathers are weak, but still have full details. The details on the branch beside the fasces are still clear.

Very Fine (VF-20) While all major details of the design remain clear, there is moderate wear on high points of the coin's design. Some detail remains in Liberty's hair, although the braid is nearly worn away. The verticle lines on the fasces are still visible, but are not as sharp as in the VF-30. The diagonal bands are present, but one or both are worn smooth in the middle.

Fine (F-12) There is moderate to considerable even wear. The design remains bold, and the overall appearance of the coin is still pleasing to the eye. Liberty's feathers are partially visible. The hair braid is nearly worn away. On the fasces, the verticle lines lack sharpness.

Very Good (VG-8) The coin is well worn with the main features of the design remaining clear and bold, although they have been worn somewhat flat. The rim is still complete. Some of the verticle lines in the fasces are still visible.

Good (G-4) This coin is heavily worn. The design is still visible, but many of the details are flat, and the design is faint in some areas. The rim is visible, the fasces is worn nearly flat but is completely outlined.

About Good (AG-3) This coin is very heavily worn with portions of the lettering, date, and legend have been worn smooth. In many instances, the date is barely readable. The legend is merging into the rim.