The United States Mint, though from humble origins, is now one of the largest and most popular minting facilities in the world. Throughout the mint’s storied history, it has produced a large number of coins that are now extremely popular in the eyes of collectors. These coins range in size and quantity, but so long as the US Mint name is attached to them they will be seen as collector’s items.
The Mercury Dime is just one of many coins now valued by collectors, but is easily one of the more popular products of the US Mint. Produced during the first half of the 20th century, these 10-cent coins played a pivotal role in the lives of every day Americans.
Like most old coins, collectors look at the Mercury Dime through the lens of how well it has been preserved. These coins were used on a daily basis during their time in production, and though they are old many of them have been well-preserved.
Under normal circumstances, coins this old are sent away for grading at the hand of a professional organization. Understanding that not everyone has the time and money to send coins away for grading, we have provided below a specification outline of what you can expect coins of a certain grade to look like.
Uncirculated: This is the grade given to those few coins that never spent any time in circulation. These coins were almost immediately put into safekeeping after they were minted, and because of that have managed to remain in tip-top shape. Naturally, these are some of the most sought after Mercury Dimes.
Extremely Fine: If your coin is graded as being Extremely Fine, it is a piece that spent but only a short amount of time being circulated. These coins will show some extremely light amounts of wear and tear on their surfaces, but for the most part will appear to be in perfect shape. Only under close inspection are you able to make out this coin’s deficiencies.
Fine: If a coin is graded to be Fine, this means that it only incurred a light amount of damage during its time in circulation. These coins will show signs of wear and tear on both faces, but this damage will not be so severe that the coin’s imagery and texture will have been compromised. When it comes down to it, these Mercury Dime are also relatively well-preserved.
Good: A coin that receives the grade of Good is one that was circulated longer than any other Mercury Dime. Having incurred a lot of damage during its time exchanging hands, a Good Mercury Dime will quite appropriately show its age. The damage present on these coins is so great that you may even be able to find chipping, bending, and other signs of extreme damage.
For all Mercury Dimes, giving the coin a price is not such and easy task and is something that cannot be done without taking a few factors into consideration. For one, you must consider the type of Dime it is. Because multiple versions of the Mercury Dime were minted most years, the scarcity of the Dime type you have is going to affect the price. Secondly, the condition means everything. If you have a Mercury Dime that is of high grade, it will sell for a much larger price than one in poor condition. Below is a chart that will give you a better idea of what you might be asked to pay for a Mercury Dime given its condition and type.
Mercury Dimes
| DATE | GOOD | FINE | EXTREMELY FINE | UNCIRCULATED |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 Mercury Dime | $2.25 | $3 | $3.25 | $4.50 |
| 1943 Mercury Dime (D) | $2.25 | $3 | $3.25 | $4.50 |
| 1943 Mercury Dime (S) | $2.25 | $3 | $3.25 | $5 |
| Source: Red Book | ||||