1937-D Mercury Dime
Circulation strike struck at the Denver Mint · 14,146,000 made
- Mintage
- 14,146,000
- 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 1937-D 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 1937-D Mercury Dime rare?
- Not by date: 14 million were struck. A sharp uncirculated coin or a known variety is what makes one special.
- Is the 1937-D 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 1937 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 D, for Denver.
- Which Denver dates near 1937 are scarcer?
- The 1938-D at 5,537,000, the 1934-D at 6,772,000, the 1935-D at 10,477,000. So the 1937-D is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1937-D Mercury Dime coins were made?
- 14,146,000.
What to check on your 1937-D
- Make sure the mint mark really is a D. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1937-S (9.7 million made).
- 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 1937 Mercury Dime Proof (5,756 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 1937-D
Output at Denver slipped to 14,146,000 in 1937, from 16 million the year before. In 1938 the figure was 5.5 million.
1937-S came to 9.7 million and 1937 came to 57 million, so neither mint's 1937 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Across Denver's 25 Mercury Dime issues, the hardest to find is the 1916-D with 264,000 made. The 1937-D is one of the easier ones. Within the 1930s it's 13th smallest of 22, between the 1939-S (11 million) and the 1935-S (16 million).
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 1937
Denver produced the famous "three-legged" Buffalo nickel after a worker polished a damaged die too heavily, removing the bison's front leg.
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 | 1937 |
| Mint | Denver Mint |
| Mint mark | "D" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 14,146,000 |
| 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 1937 Mercury Dime issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 Mercury Dime | 56,860,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0723 oz |
| 1937 Mercury Dime Proof | 5,756 | Proof | 0.0723 oz |
| 1937-D Mercury Dime | 14,146,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0723 oz |
| 1937-S Mercury Dime | 9,740,000 | 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.