1936 Mercury Dime
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 87,500,000 made
- Mintage
- 87,500,000
- 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 1936 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 1936 Mercury Dime rare?
- No. With 88 million made, it's one of the most common Mercury Dimes.
- Is the 1936 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 1936 Mercury Dime?
- On the reverse, to the left of the base of the fasces. Philadelphia dimes have no mint mark.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1936 are scarcer?
- The 1931 at 3,150,000, the 1938 at 22,190,000, the 1934 at 24,080,000, plus 4 more. So the 1936 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1936 Mercury Dime coins were made?
- 87,500,000.
What to check on your 1936
- 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.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1936 Mercury Dime Proof (4,130 made) is the one to compare with.
- 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 1936
Philadelphia made 87,500,000 in 1936, up from 59 million in 1935. In 1937 the figure was 57 million.
It was the big producer of the year, well ahead of 1936-S (9.2 million) and 1936-D (16 million).
Across Philadelphia's 27 Mercury Dime issues, the hardest to find is the 1921 with 1,230,000 made. The 1936 is one of the easier ones. No Mercury Dime of the 1930s had a bigger run.
A pause, then recovery (1932 to 1937)
With the Depression at its worst, no dimes were struck in 1932 or 1933. Coinage resumed in 1934 at Philadelphia (24,080,000) and Denver (6,772,000) and San Francisco rejoined in 1935 with 15,840,000. Output climbed quickly after that. Philadelphia made 58,830,000 in 1935 and 87,500,000 in 1936, the highest Mercury dime figure up to that time. The three mints together struck 309,587,000 dimes dated 1934 to 1937.
In 1936 the Mint began selling proof coins to collectors again. It struck 4,130 proof dimes that year and 5,756 in 1937. Those proofs have their own pages. The mid 1930s were also when collecting by date and mint mark took off, helped by inexpensive folders and boards with a hole for every coin. Collectors started setting aside new dimes by the roll, which is why uncirculated coins from 1934 onward are far easier to find than those of the 1920s.
None of the dates in this era is rare in worn condition. San Francisco skipped 1934, so there is no 1934-S Mercury dime. The 1934-D, at 6,772,000, is the lowest mintage of the group and is a little harder to find in high grades. With these dates, condition and the fasces bands decide almost everything. A coin with original luster and fully split center bands earns a collector premium, while a worn example is valued mainly for its metal.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1936
The Mint resumed selling proof coins to collectors in 1936 after a break of about 20 years.
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 | 1936 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 87,500,000 |
| 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 1936 Mercury Dime issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 Mercury Dime | 87,500,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0723 oz |
| 1936 Mercury Dime Proof | 4,130 | Proof | 0.0723 oz |
| 1936-D Mercury Dime | 16,132,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0723 oz |
| 1936-S Mercury Dime | 9,210,000 | 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.