1920 Mercury Dime
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 59,030,000 made
- Mintage
- 59,030,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 2.5 g
- Diameter
- 17.9 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1920 Mercury Dime worth?
In worn condition it trades for about its silver content, 0.0723 troy ounces. Uncirculated coins with full luster or attractive toning sell for more.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1920 Mercury Dime rare?
- No. 59 million were made, a typical run for the series. Condition and varieties decide its value, not the date.
- Is the 1920 Mercury Dime silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.0723 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1920 Mercury Dime?
- On the reverse, to the left of the base of the fasces. Philadelphia dimes have no mint mark.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1920 are scarcer?
- The 1921 at 1,230,000, the 1916 at 22,180,080, the 1924 at 24,010,000, plus 5 more. So the 1920 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1920 Mercury Dime coins were made?
- 59,030,000.
What to check on your 1920
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Judge the grade under good light. Look at the hair above Liberty's forehead and the bands across the fasces. Fully split, rounded center bands ("Full Bands") bring large premiums.
Circulated examples are usually traded for their silver content. Pick out the best ones: original luster and attractive toning lift a coin above melt, while cleaned coins lose most of their collector value.
The story of the 1920
Output at Philadelphia climbed to 59,030,000 in 1920, from 36 million the year before. The next year it made 1.2 million (1921).
It was the big producer of the year, well ahead of 1920-S (14 million) and 1920-D (19 million).
Philadelphia struck the Mercury Dime in 27 issues between 1916 and 1945. By mintage this one lands in the more common half, while the key for that mint is the 1921 (1,230,000). No Mercury Dime of the 1920s had a bigger run.
War years and heavy output (1917 to 1920)
With the United States drawn into the First World War, demand for small change jumped. The three mints struck 307,166,800 Mercury dimes dated 1917 to 1920, with Philadelphia alone producing 55,230,000 in 1917 and 59,030,000 in 1920. Denver and San Francisco each added between about 8.8 and 27.3 million a year. The smallest figure of the era is the 1919-S at 8,850,000, still a big number by the standards of the 1920s. The 1917-D, at 9,402,000, is a little scarcer than its neighbors in better grades.
None of these dates is scarce in worn condition, but quality is another matter. Branch mint dimes from these years are often softly struck, with flat hair above the forehead, a weak date and indistinct bands across the fasces. The 1919-D and 1919-S are famous for this. An uncirculated example with fully split center bands earns a collector premium far beyond that of an ordinary coin of the same date. Philadelphia coins of the period usually come better struck.
Most coins you'll find from this era are worn to Good or Very Good, with the date still readable but the wing feathers flattened. Read the date first, then the mint mark. A weak strike can leave a D or an S faint, so tilt the coin under a light until the letter shows its full outline. Silver dimes like these stayed in pocket change until the 1960s, so most of them saw decades of use.
How to recognize it
Weinman's Liberty faces left in a close-fitting Phrygian cap with small wings, which he meant as a symbol of liberty of thought, not a portrait of the god Mercury. LIBERTY arcs over her head, IN GOD WE TRUST sits in small letters below her chin at the lower left and the date is at the lower right. His AW monogram appears between the date and the Y of LIBERTY. The reverse shows a fasces, a bundle of rods wrapped around an ax blade and tied with bands, with an olive branch for peace curling around it. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA runs along the top, ONE DIME across the bottom and E PLURIBUS UNUM at the right. The mint mark, when there is one, sits at the lower left of the fasces. The coin is 17.9 mm across with a reeded edge.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Mercury Dime (1916–1945) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1920 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 59,030,000 |
| Face value | 10¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 2.5 grams |
| Diameter | 17.9 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.0723 troy oz (2.250 g) |
| Designer | Adolph A. Weinman |
Other 1920 Mercury Dime issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 Mercury Dime | 59,030,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0723 oz |
| 1920-D Mercury Dime | 19,171,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0723 oz |
| 1920-S Mercury Dime | 13,820,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0723 oz |
Mintage: US Mint records as published in standard references, each figure checked against at least two independent sources. How we build these pages.