1928-S Mercury Dime
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 7,400,000 made
- Mintage
- 7,400,000
- 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 1928-S 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 1928-S Mercury Dime rare?
- No. 7.4 million were made, a typical run for the series. Condition and varieties decide its value, not the date.
- Is the 1928-S 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 1928 Mercury Dime?
- On the reverse, to the left of the base of the fasces. Philadelphia dimes have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1928 are scarcer?
- The 1926-S at 1,520,000, the 1931-S at 1,800,000, the 1930-S at 1,843,000, plus 5 more. So the 1928-S is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1928-S Mercury Dime coins were made?
- 7,400,000.
What to check on your 1928-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1928-D (4.2 million made).
- 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 1928-S
Output at San Francisco climbed to 7,400,000 in 1928, from 4.8 million the year before. The next year it made 4.7 million (1929-S).
1928-D came to 4.2 million and 1928 came to 19 million, so neither mint's 1928 coin is much scarcer than the other.
San Francisco struck the Mercury Dime in 25 issues between 1916 and 1945. By mintage this one lands in the scarcer half, while the key for that mint is the 1926-S (1,520,000). Within the 1920s it's 15th smallest of 25, between the 1924-S (7.1 million) and the 1920-S (14 million).
The late 1920s and the Depression (1926 to 1931)
Philadelphia struck between 19,480,000 and 32,160,000 dimes a year from 1926 to 1929, while Denver and San Francisco usually made between about 4.2 and 7.4 million each. The exception is the 1926-S. San Francisco produced only 1,520,000 that year, the smallest mintage of the decade after the 1921 issues. Most survivors are worn and softly struck. It is a semi-key and scarce in any grade above Fine.
The Depression then cut demand sharply. Philadelphia's output fell to 6,770,000 in 1930 and 3,150,000 in 1931. San Francisco struck 1,843,000 and 1,800,000. Denver skipped 1930 entirely before making 1,260,000 in 1931, the third lowest Denver figure of the series after the 1916-D and 1921-D. The 1931-D is counted among the semi-keys. As with 1923, there is no genuine 1930-D dime; any coin with that date and mint mark is a fake.
Dimes from these years usually turn up in Good to Fine. Their low mintages make the 1930-S, 1931-D and 1931-S more desirable than the Philadelphia dates in every grade. For the common dates of 1926 to 1929, condition and strike decide the premium. Look at the center bands of the fasces and the hair above Liberty's forehead. Then make sure the mint mark at the lower left of the fasces is crisp and properly placed. Every dime of these years is 90% silver, so even the most worn common date is worth more than face value.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1928
The Peace dollar was struck only in Philadelphia and San Francisco. The Philadelphia figure of 360,649 is the lowest of the series.
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 | 1928 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 7,400,000 |
| 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 1928 Mercury Dime issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 Mercury Dime | 19,480,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0723 oz |
| 1928-D Mercury Dime | 4,161,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0723 oz |
| 1928-S Mercury Dime | 7,400,000 | 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.