1916-D Mercury Dime

The story of the 1916-D

1916 was the first year of the Mercury Dime. Denver struck 264,000 of them. The next year it made 9.4 million (1917-D).

The other mints made far more that year: 1916 alone came to 22 million, roughly 84 for every 1916-D. If you're checking a pile of 1916 coins, the D is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1921-D (1,080,000) and the 1921 (1,230,000).

Of the 25 Mercury Dimes Denver struck between 1916 and 1945, this is the scarcest. No Mercury Dime of the 1910s had a smaller run.

More on the 1916-D

Denver's 1916 run is the coin every Mercury dime collector eventually has to face. Its 264,000 pieces are roughly a quarter of the next smallest mintage in the series, the 1,080,000 of the 1921-D. Denver did not deliver its first new dimes until December 29, 1916, so the whole run went out into commerce during 1917 and stayed there. Hardly anyone thought to save one, which is why most survivors are well worn and uncirculated coins are genuinely rare.

There is a twist for anyone who does find a high-grade piece. Unlike many later branch mint dimes, the 1916-D is usually well struck. A good share of the uncirculated survivors show fully split center bands. The bigger worry is authenticity. The usual fake is a genuine 1916 Philadelphia dime with a D added, so look for a seam or glue line around the letter, a D that sits too high or at an odd angle, or a mark whose surface doesn't match the field around it. Grading services see altered 1916-D dimes constantly. A genuine coin carries a strong collector premium in every grade, so buy one only in a holder from a major grading service.

1916: a new dime and the Denver key (1916)

Adolph A. Weinman's Winged Liberty Head dime replaced Charles Barber's design in 1916, one of three new silver designs that year. Striking began at Philadelphia late that summer, but makers of vending machines and pay telephones soon complained that the first coins gave trouble in their equipment, largely because of a raised fin at the rim. Weinman lowered the relief and pulled LIBERTY away from the edge. The revised dime reached the public on October 30, 1916.

All three mints struck the new design. Philadelphia made 22,180,080 and San Francisco 10,450,000, but Denver turned out only 264,000. The usual explanation is that Denver was busy with quarters. Its first delivery of dimes was not made until December 29, so the 1916-D only reached circulation in 1917. Few were saved, most survivors are well worn and it is the key to the series. It is also one of the most counterfeited US coins, usually by adding a D to a genuine Philadelphia dime of the same year.

If you have a 1916 dime, the mint mark decides almost everything. Look on the reverse at the lower left of the fasces. No letter means Philadelphia, S means San Francisco and only a D means the key. Check any D under magnification for a seam around its edges or a shape that sits oddly in the field. Even a worn genuine 1916-D carries a collector premium, while the 1916 and 1916-S are ordinary first-year coins.

Elsewhere in US coinage in 1916

A new generation of silver designs arrived: the Mercury dime, the Standing Liberty quarter and the Walking Liberty half dollar. The first Standing Liberty quarters were struck in very small numbers late in the year.