[The following excerpt is published courtesy of DLRC Press and its author, David W. Lange. This information was originally published in 2005 in The Complete Guide to Mercury Dimes]
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MINTAGE: 22,180,080 (Ranking 42/77)
POPULAR VARIETIES: None are reported.
RARITY: As the first year of issue, thousands of 1916 Mercury Dimes were set aside. Since the majority of coin collectors, as well as the population in general, then lived in the Eastern states, most saved were from the Philadelphia Mint. These coins survive today as Uncirculated or nearly so. Gem specimens having full bands (designated FB by the grading services) are plentiful, as are low grade coins ranging from Poor to Very Good. Sliders, or dimes grading About Uncirculated, are usually available. Grades Fine through Extremely Fine are somewhat less available, and this remains true of most issues through the 1920s.
A fair number of examples have been certified in grades higher than those listed below, a fact which is rarely true of other issues before the mid-1930s. Nearly 150 have graded MS-67 FB, while almost twenty have achieved the remarkable grade of MS-68 FB.
COMMENTS: The first dimes of this type were not released until October 28, 1916, following a months-long build-up in the press. As the first of the three new coin types to enter circulation, the Winged Liberty Dime (as it was officially designated by the Mint) was eagerly hoarded by the general public. Of the 1,800,000 pieces included in the initial release, it’s likely that a good percentage were set aside as keepsakes.
Unlike most new American coins, which are traditionally met with criticism and suspicion, the new dime was received favorably by all elements of society. Numismatists in particular were relieved to be done with Barber’s old Liberty Head type, a coin considered an embarrassment to the aesthetically attuned. Both the general press and the public erroneously identified the bust of Liberty as a representation of Mercury, an appellation which survives to the present day.
The widespread availability of 1916 Mercury Dimes from the Philadelphia Mint has always been acknowledged within the hobby, so the price appreciation for this issue has followed a steady and uneventful track. The higher than expected 1985 value for examples grading Good simply reflects the residual effects of a speculative market in precious metals during the years 1979-80. From this point onward, the catalog values for Mercury Dimes in grades Good and Fine are pretty much in lock step for all common dates, and they are based more on the price of silver bullion than true numismatic values. This means that the slight differences in rarity within these dates, something plainly evident in the catalog values provided in earlier guide books, is no longer apparent.