10¢ · Silver · Circulating
Winged Liberty Head (Mercury) Dime
Weinman's Winged Liberty Head dime, popularly called the Mercury dime and collected by date, mint, grade, and Full Bands designation.
- Designer
- Adolph A. Weinman
- Classic dates
- 1916–1945
- Mint facilities
- Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco
01 · Overview
Why the Winged Liberty Head (Mercury) Dime matters
Adolph A. Weinman's Winged Liberty Head dime is popularly called the Mercury dime because Liberty's winged cap was mistaken for the Roman god's helmet. It was struck from 1916 through 1945 at Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco.
The series combines famous key dates, overdate varieties, strike-sensitive Full Bands designations, and heavily circulated issues. A census comparison must specify date, mint, variety, grade, and band designation.
02 · Design
Reading the design
Winged Liberty
Liberty's cheek, hair above the ear, wing feathers, and neck are primary focal areas. Strike softness and circulation friction must be distinguished.
Fasces and olive branch
The central horizontal fasces bands provide the basis for Full Bands designations.
03 · Specifications
Nominal issue specifications
- Denomination
- 10¢
- Composition
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Nominal weight
- 2.50 g
- Diameter
- 17.9 mm
- Edge
- Reeded
- Series dates
- 1916–1945
Nominal specifications describe regular classic issues. Patterns, proofs, special strikes, production tolerances, and later commemorative or modern versions may differ.
04 · Grading population
How many have been certified at each grade
No static census copied here. Full grade-by-grade counts change and are not republished without the exact issue, service, strike, designation, source, and as-of date. Use the official tools below; verified figures for an individual Nucoins coin appear on that coin's listing.
Population reports count submissions certified by a grading service. They do not count every surviving coin, and a series-wide total is not a substitute for the exact date, mint, variety, strike, designation, and grade. Nucoins listings show the population in the listed grade and the number graded higher when those figures have been checked against an official report.
- Population in grade
- Coins recorded by that service for the exact issue and assigned grade.
- Higher / finer
- Coins recorded by the same service in numerically higher applicable grades.
- Report date
- The date the figure was checked; counts can change after submissions, resubmissions, and database updates.
05 · Issue map
The series in stages
01 · 1916–1921
Opening and key dates
The 1916-D and low-output 1921 issues define the early date set.
02 · 1923–1931
Middle period
Includes the low-mintage 1926-S and substantial variation in strike quality.
03 · 1934–1945
Later production and varieties
High-output wartime dates coexist with the 1942/1 and 1942/1-D overdates.
Notable issue checkpoints
Production figures describe coins struck, not coins surviving or certified. Linked issue records provide the context for each figure.
06 · Examination
What photographs should help you examine
Obverse
Cheek, hair, and wing
Separate flat strike at hair and wing from friction on the cheek and high points.
Reverse
Central bands
For a Full Bands claim, inspect uninterrupted separation and apply the grading service's terminology.
Edge / holder
Mintmark and variety
Check mintmark shape and position; overdates require die-level confirmation.
07 · Before buying
Questions the listing should answer
01
Date and mint are only the beginning
A mintage figure records production, not the number surviving in a particular grade. Distribution, melting, storage, bag handling, and later collector demand all affect availability. Compare the complete issue and condition before drawing conclusions from mintage alone.
02
Surface quality can separate coins in the same grade
Two coins with the same assigned grade can differ in luster, strike, marks, toning, and overall visual balance. Review the focal areas and protected fields appropriate to the design rather than treating the grade number as a complete description.
03
Verify attribution before paying for it
Mint mark, recognized variety, special finish, and holder designation should agree with the coin and its certification record. Do not assume that an undocumented nickname or seller description establishes a variety.
08 · Sources
Primary references
This guide is educational and intentionally type-level. Issue-specific attribution, mintage, certification, and condition should be verified for the individual coin.