mercury dime

The Mercury dime, also known as the Winged Liberty Head was minted in the United States between 1916 and 1945. There is a picture on the obverse side of the mythological goddess named Liberty and she is wearing the Phrygian cap which symbolized freedom and liberty. This dime is considered to be one of the most beautiful designs to have even been minted by the American mint. The other side of the dime features fasces with an olive branch signifying being prepared for battle if needed but also wanting peace.

The composition of this coin is made of two metals. It is ninety percent silver and ten percent copper which is the same as the Barber dime. The most sought after dime of this type is that made in 1916 at the Denver mint, also known as the 1916-D. There were only 264,000 of these minted and they are now worth thousands of dollars when they are in good condition.

There are a number of coins in the Mercury series with defects which makes these much more valuable than the regular ones. These defects include lines in the fasces missing or when the 1942 year was stamped on over the 1941 die at the mint in Philadelphia.