RARE 1916D MERCURY DIME

A number of years ago I was detecting in a park, here in the Midwest,  and popped up this 1916D  mercury dime  in the outfield of the ball diamond.  At that time, I didn't know enough about caring for silver coins so I decided to clean it with simichrome polish.  Also, notice the two nicks I made with my poker.  What a dummy!!!  As you can notice, it is still a 1916D and has good detail.  A couple of years later I popped up another 1916D in AG condition in the front yard of a house.  I didn't post a picture of that one..

Awesome coin!  Even w/ nicks and cleaning, this is still worth $$$.  Tough lesson, though.  Great find!

I'd say that coin would still go for a couple of thousand. I wouldn't admit to cleaning it!

excellent find,  congrats.  HH Dave

Ouch. Those "nicks" are pretty severe.

I'd certainly still buy it from you if you ever wanted to sell it. Just send me a PM anytime! Nicks or no nicks.

Great coin...if it had of been a 1916 D you would have hit the jackpot!!!!

It was a 1916 D

Based on what you see in my pictures and my description, , would  it be worth my while to send it to ANACS for grading or would they bother with it since it was cleaned and has the nicks on it?  What would you folks think it would grade for as an estimated guess?
thanks

Nice coin! In my oppinion, it would grade at about EF-40

some slab services refuse to grade cleaned coins and others will put it in a special holder and call it damaged. exanimo, ss

Cleaned it,ruined it,do not pass go,do not collect $200!!Bummer,expensive lesson to learn too late-John   

hello,
  I'm new here and am just getting started in the sport.. or whatever you wanna call it . I found a dime similar to the one above mine is dated 1944. It is pretty worn but no dings or nicks. the outline of the face is still pretty good, what would you fellows think it may be worth?

that sure is a nice lookin dime you got up there, a hard lesson learned about those nicks.

Hey, Scavenger welcome aboard What you have is a Winged Liberty Head Dime. Aka Mercury Dime. Going by the grade you said yours is in (Good to possibly very good) according to my current price books it is worth between 75 Cents to 1 Dollar. That year was minted in high numbers unlike the 1916 D pictured above which only around 264,000 were ever minted, hence why they are worth a pretty decent sum of $$$

thnaks true_metal in that case i'll keep it

Swanie1,
There are slabbers that will slab your coin. Just need to call around first and find out which one with the best reputation will not slab it. Don't even bother with PCGS, they will just rip you off for your money and send your coin back to you. I wrote them a long letter asking why they didn't charge a discounted rate when they sent coins back "in a body bag" as they call it in Numismatics. They said they were still giving an opinion and that was worth the money they were charging. To which I countered that they didn't have the extra time and expense of encapsulating. Essentially after this, they said this was the way they did things and tough luck. I tried to explain to them that this would bring them more business, but they didn't see it that way. The top dog in the grading business (PCGS) are a bunch of snooty folks who really treat their customers like crap, so as I said above make some phone calls before you spend your money to be denied encapsulation. And, yes, this coin, or any 16 D Merc is always worth encapsulating. The value on this coin has gone through the roof. I would say it is THE most in demand coin on the market today. Present values of a coin in the condition you have there would most likely be over $1000

Thanks for that info Coinshooter. Its good to know who the snobish, holier than thou attitude asswipes are in that business in case i ever run across a coin like this, so i can avoid them right from the start!

how come this is so rare.

There was only 264,000 of them made which isn't much as far as coins go.

There was only 264,000 of them made which isn't much as far as coins go.

 
 
Just as Chuckered and i had stated Rosevelt. 264,000 is a drop in the bucket compared to millions of other years minted of the Mercury dimes. If you get lucky and pull on of these babies from the ground do not clean it! leave it as is or you might screw yourself royally out of some $$$$ if you decide to sell it. The 1916 D's are going to do nothing but go up in price as the years roll along so keep that in mind

Hi all,
I was curious what cleaning a coin does that brings the value down?

Hi  Old_coin2
 
I have always felt that cleaning coins is no big deal and should not reduce their value. I on the other hand do not set the rules in Numismatics, and pro coin collectors and graders seem to think that cleaning coins messes them up by putting scratches on them. Even cleaning with soft bristle toothbrushes will put fine scratches on coins that stand out easily under a microscope. Best to leave rare or valuable coins alone or just soak them over time to clean them. Rubbing them between your fingers will also induce scratches, so keep that in mind.

we have a 1916 dime but it isnt a mercury it looks like a roman guy on it and the back is diferent as well. it has ONE DIME inside a wreath and under the wreath is the letter s. Anyone have any ideas about this one? It is in excellent shape. No nicks and shows very little wear.

we also have a 1916 mercury but it has alot of wear around the edges and we cant tell if it had a d or not

David. The first Dime you speak of is known as a Barber Dime (Nice coin). They were minted from 1892 to 1916, making yours one of the last year minted The Mercury dimes started in 1916 also, and ceased in 1945. If yours would grade at EF-40 it would be worth about $20 And if graded at AU-50 would be worth about $60 according to current pricings?
?

 As for the wear on the 1916 Mercury. If it's so bad that you cant tell if the "D" was there then it will never be known if you had the rare one?

the only time that you should clean a coin is if it is already in bad shape.  if it is in mint or near mint condition it is best not to touch it.  an if it has color to it (called patina) which can be red purple orange.  the most sought after patina color that I know of is called rainbow patina. you should have  a coin store check them out before cleaning any that you find.  in some cases it can greatly reduce the value

You can clean any coins you want. If I found some that weren't rare, but were dirty, I'd clean them because they are never going to see the inside of a slab anyway and it might actually increase their value for the paper 2 x 2 collector.

How can you tell if it's a 1916D or not? Where is the "D" located?

YOu'll see on photo of back of coin, look closely to the lower left side at the bottom to see the "D"

So how would you even go about telling what it is with out cleaning it?  i.e. if its covered in dirt?

So how would you even go about telling what it is with out cleaning it?? i.e. if its covered in dirt?

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?I agree 100% Histo,................ also,? my belief, if it's been in the ground, that is enough reason for a dealer to cut the value, cleaning it, isn't going to de-value it any fruther. even so, if you put a 1916-D merc on E-bay, it's going to fetch a nice price. ANY WAGERS ?

Hi? Old_coin2
 
I have always felt that cleaning coins is no big deal and should not reduce their value. I on the other hand do not set the rules in Numismatics, and pro coin collectors and graders seem to think that cleaning coins messes them up by putting scratches on them. Even cleaning with soft bristle toothbrushes will put fine scratches on coins that stand out easily under a microscope. Best to leave rare or valuable coins alone or just soak them over time to clean them. Rubbing them between your fingers will also induce scratches, so keep that in mind.

I can tell you a few things I've learned about cleaning, but let me state for the record that after all the years hunting,
I've seen very few silver coins that come out of the ground that actually need to be cleaned, silver in the ground does
not tarnish, normally and the dirt washes right off, so why do you want to clean a silver coin ?
I can tell you why most do, and that's because they are new to this hobby and everyone always asks "did you clean your coins"
leading new people to believe they have to clean everything. On a rare occassion, silver will come out of the ground
"stained" in some places by ?tanic acid? from leaves or other organic material in really acitic ground, soap and water (this is ok)
does not remove this... so mine still have these stains....
but as far as devalueing a coin, well collecters prefer the most perfect speciman they can get. cleaning with more than soap
and water, as in using chemicals, literaly takes some of the metal off the coin and can be seen under a good loop..
Here is a big example of damage I did, even without cleaning ...
this 1833 bust half dime I dug last weekend looks very good to the naked eye...
but on closer examination, you can see hair like scratches in front of the face. these are very fine scratches but since you
see silver through them, then they were made after recovery...
No I did not clean it, or clip it with a digger..
I believe these were made when I dug the coin and "rubbed the dirt off" while I still could not see what I had.
Now since I've never dug a coin like this, and never expected to dig one, .....
I was very careless about even getting the dirt off of it straight out of the ground..   

I saw one on Ebay going for about 5000.00

264,000 produced.  Low denomination.  Small and easily lost.  It's very plausible the 1916D could pop out the next plug.  They're out there waiting to be found!  That baby would buy a lifetime supply of batteries.  No chance I'd put that in my book.  I'd sell it.  I'd be just as happy looking at all the other mercs.   

Hi there,  Thats a great find!!!  One thing that I was always curious about though, is the fact that the 1914-S Quarter has the EXACT same mintage as the 1916-D Merc, but the value is a considerable amount less.  I wonder why that is   HH!

Fox

The Mercury dimes, ever since they were first minted, have always been thought of as being one of the most artistic American coins minted.  As a result, there has always been a demand for these beauties. 

The entire Barber series, dimes, quarters, and halves, on the other hand, have always been thought of as being just a copy cat coin.  For the obverse, Charles Barber pretty much copied the Morgan dollar, faced it the other direction, and made some changes minor changes.  The reverse was pretty much just a copy of the Seated coin series.  The coin was never really considered to be all that artistic, therefore the demand was never really high, and part of the reason it really only lasted 24 years, and why the changes to the series where made in mid 1916 as opposed to waiting until 1917. 

I do think though, that collectors are starting to realize that there are a great many less then one million minted Barbers out there now and I have noticed in the last year or two a sharp increase in the values of these coins.  I do not think most of them will ever have the value of the 1916 D Mercury dime, but they are sure to double and triple in there current values soon.

Anthony

heres one on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...962288744&rd=1#ebayphotohosting

Most folks only dream of finding one 1916D dime, but to find two, the odds on that are astronomical.  Very Very Nice!!!!

     great coin       cleaning does hurt the value as does the nicks, however it still should bring 1500$ or so      not a bad find at all
if there is a show near you that PGCS is at bring it in, you may be able to get them to tell you if it would be worth grading without paying    after all the guys in the booth do have to leave to eat luch, corner one  as for a lot of the other services I would not waste my time or money sending it to them      PCGS is the standard ANACS is good too

in good condition it lists at 750 PCGS    you have at least an ef which is about 4700, but the clean and the nicks drop it down    there are plenty of collectors who would jump at the chance for a coin like that   but it is treasure and the rule I live by, and my wife bugs me about, is you don't sell treasure if it can be helped


again  what a find   hmmmm 1916d or a 5 dollar gold  what would I rather find  tough choice

That is one beautiful coin you've found there! 

Maybe,...just maybe,....one day I could be so luck to find one.  Odds are, I won't be that lucky!

Great find,...and you found TWO!     Unbelievable!

Your my hero,...for real! 

Rod

Nice merc "Ive often wondered what it would be like to make such an awesome find
    congrats man" when is it my turn?Groundfisher

ok i have a 1916 S is it any were near in price as the D.come on baby daddy needs a new detector   LOL!!!

this pile of junk is listed at $795.00? http://www.jakesmp.net/AAA_giffile/.../numbered_items/0300_0399/0317.html

I'd call it an EF detailed coin with a "net grade" of XF because of the rim nicks and cleaning.

Current "fair market value" = in the area of $3500

Red book would be higher BUT no one pays redbook for coins unless they are inexperienced.

Dealer to dealer (aka as wholesale value) would be in the $2800 range

if sold directly to a dealer, they would try to get it for appox. $2500 (if it is authentic) but will go up to the current wholesale value if you know how to speak the lingo, and barter coins.

Best place to sell it in that cond. would be ebay (but) I would send it in for grading and authentication 1st because people will not pay for unslabbed "key date" coins that could possibly be fake/s.

it would go for close to if not the current "fair market value" if slabbed authentic, and in the grade I believe it to be...

that is one very sweet coin and id keep it for a few more years before even thinking about selling it. keep on digging !!!

That's a great find! Very lucky to find a rare date like that.

WTG that 1916 is worth around 1250-1600 DOLLARS!!! 

even with the imperfections, you won't find many in this condition. an awesome coin.

how about a picture of the second one you found?

Here is the other 1916 D Merc that I found in a house yard .  Notice the nick that I made with my probe.  I've been told that it is considerd AG grade.

Wow Swanie... I think with the nicks in BOTH of those dimes I'd find another method of probing. Possibly a plastic probe?

I don't use a probe at all. I just dig the target and pop it from the resulting dirt clod... ;)

Still yet, those are some awesome finds!!!

AY - CARUMBA !!! 

NICE FIND!!!!!   Check out this site your coin maybe worth more than you think.
http://www.bestcoin.com/us-mercury-dimes.htm

That site is right on the $$$.
I just got my most recent copy of Coin World's "Coin Values" and it also indicates about $800 current value in G condition.

Incredible finds.  Congrats

BTW You should have the rings appraised. Take them to your local jeweler and ask for and apprasal for"insurance purposes" rather than their estimated value and let us know what there apprasied value are..........curious!

Again....Great find!!!

That is nice coin....


What about 1936 is that worth anything?

very nice coins indeed !!  the nicer of the two should grade XF and the other AG, dig marks or not, those two holes should easily pay for your detector. a grading service would authenticate them but not grade them,  if you were thinking of selling, definately get them authenticated, and definately "ebay" them, dealers like to buy coins like that for 10% of actual value, then sell them for full price and explain that "a circulated coin may have circulation marks"  and BTW that 1833 Bust is just gorgeous !!! 

Very nice coins, im going to play the newby and ask the question I have and others might as well.  What exactly is encapsulation? Im not a dealer or collector (other than wheatbacks, the most common old coin found) thanks for the info and I hope this isnt considered hijacking a thread.

Very nice find-I always get excited when i find a 1916 merc  and hoping/ looking for the D" Mint mark! I stopped using steel probes after a hunting buddy gouged a 1876 Seated half 1-tough..If I do use one GoSlowly that signal isn't going to run away from you!

Very nice coins, im going to play the newby and ask the question I have and others might as well.  What exactly is encapsulation? Im not a dealer or collector (other than wheatbacks, the most common old coin found) thanks for the info and I hope this isnt considered hijacking a thread.

when you send a coin out to one of the major grading houses, when they grade your coin, they encapsulate it in an airtight coin holder for you as part of the service. when you sell the coin, it is a way that the buyer can tell that they are getting what they are paying for since the holder is sealed.

That's a keeper for sure!!!!!!!!

Congrats!

she sure is pretty

got close... 1916 merc... pulled out the ground as is 2 weeks ago from a "picked over" park no less (two old timers told me not to waste my time there)... FB but sadly no "D"... i figure it's worth 10 bucks...

But Still a good find! And it looks in great conditon to boot!
Congrats! Especially in an area that is supposed to be worked
out! Makes it even better!

  if that last picture was only a D....wow.

ANACS should grade your coin - They will just mark on the ticket inside that it was cleaned.  NGC & PCGS will send the coin back in a "body bag" meaning if its been cleaned or altered they wont even slab it.  Nice find regardless if you send it in or not.  Ron

Cleaned AND nicked twice.  For shame.  I think finding another method of coin retrieval is a must.  You likely won't get another chance at recovering a 1916-D Merc, and most of us never will.  I have seen so many cleaned or nicked silver coins on this site.  This is really unfortunate, and it means that we should all be better educated.  After all, what better use for a forum like this? 

The three cardinal rules of silver coins should really be:

1)  Resist the urge to rub the dirt off to see what you've found!  There is plenty of time to check a find out at home later.  Like the capped bust coin above, coins in high grades can be slaughtered by rubbing them with your hands/sleeves/blue jeans since the surfaces of them are so mirror-like. 

2)  ABSOLUTELY NO CHEMICAL CLEANERS!

3)  Only hard running water to whisk away dirt (perhaps even an overnight soak to loosen it first) and AT MOST a camel's hair brush to lightly and gingerly "tease" the dirt off the surface of the coin. 

I should really include a fourth rule, but this one is common sense.  If you are scratching the clad you unearth, you will probably do the same thing to your nice coin finds.  I watched in horror as a friend chopped a high-grade Seated Liberty Half Dollar in two with a shovel once.  The patience to be careful even when the blood is pumping is a must.

Last of all, if the coin is still dirty after a stint under swift running water (with the drain plugged!!), go to numismatist for advice.

I really hope this helps, and happy hunting to you all!


-BuckleBoy

Sweet dime finds!  It's amazing you have found 2 of those!

Your my hero, now I have to hurry home and get out my mercury collection and see what I can find???

When I was a kid, a friend of mine had a slot machine in his basement that belonged to his mom.
I was already into coin collecting (wheatbacks), and the slot machine was from the 40s. It had a small window on the front so you could see the coins inside....good lord it was crammed solid with Mercury dimes.

I REALLY wished I could have had access to what was in that slot machine.

And I knew nothing about 1916-D dimes.

Cleaned AND nicked twice.  For shame.  I think finding another method of coin retrieval is a must.  You likely won't get another chance at recovering a 1916-D Merc, and most of us never will.  I have seen so many cleaned or nicked silver coins on this site.  This is really unfortunate, and it means that we should all be better educated.  After all, what better use for a forum like this? 

The three cardinal rules of silver coins should really be:

1)  Resist the urge to rub the dirt off to see what you've found!  There is plenty of time to check a find out at home later.  Like the capped bust coin above, coins in high grades can be slaughtered by rubbing them with your hands/sleeves/blue jeans since the surfaces of them are so mirror-like. 

2)  ABSOLUTELY NO CHEMICAL CLEANERS!

3)  Only hard running water to whisk away dirt (perhaps even an overnight soak to loosen it first) and AT MOST a camel's hair brush to lightly and gingerly "tease" the dirt off the surface of the coin. 

I should really include a fourth rule, but this one is common sense.  If you are scratching the clad you unearth, you will probably do the same thing to your nice coin finds.  I watched in horror as a friend chopped a high-grade Seated Liberty Half Dollar in two with a shovel once.  The patience to be careful even when the blood is pumping is a must.

Last of all, if the coin is still dirty after a stint under swift running water (with the drain plugged!!), go to numismatist for advice.

I really hope this helps, and happy hunting to you all!


-BuckleBoy

In my opinion, you are absolutely correct.  I know many will debate this issue, but I agree that the best way to devalue a coin is to scratch it and/or clean it.  If it's worth less than $5 or $10, I'd probably go ahead and clean it.  Worth any more than that and I'd try to leave it alone beyond very carefully cleaning off the dirt.  I know how hard it is to resist the urge to clean a silver coin.  Just my humble opinion.

Cleaned AND nicked twice.  For shame.  I think finding another method of coin retrieval is a must.  You likely won't get another chance at recovering a 1916-D Merc, and most of us never will.  I have seen so many cleaned or nicked silver coins on this site.  This is really unfortunate, and it means that we should all be better educated.  After all, what better use for a forum like this? 

The three cardinal rules of silver coins should really be:

1)  Resist the urge to rub the dirt off to see what you've found!  There is plenty of time to check a find out at home later.  Like the capped bust coin above, coins in high grades can be slaughtered by rubbing them with your hands/sleeves/blue jeans since the surfaces of them are so mirror-like. 

2)  ABSOLUTELY NO CHEMICAL CLEANERS!

3)  Only hard running water to whisk away dirt (perhaps even an overnight soak to loosen it first) and AT MOST a camel's hair brush to lightly and gingerly "tease" the dirt off the surface of the coin. 

I should really include a fourth rule, but this one is common sense.  If you are scratching the clad you unearth, you will probably do the same thing to your nice coin finds.  I watched in horror as a friend chopped a high-grade Seated Liberty Half Dollar in two with a shovel once.  The patience to be careful even when the blood is pumping is a must.

Last of all, if the coin is still dirty after a stint under swift running water (with the drain plugged!!), go to numismatist for advice.

I really hope this helps, and happy hunting to you all!


-BuckleBoy

In my opinion, you are absolutely correct.  I know many will debate this issue, but I agree that the best way to devalue a coin is to scratch it and/or clean it.  If it's worth less than $5 or $10, I'd probably go ahead and clean it.  Worth any more than that and I'd try to leave it alone beyond very carefully cleaning off the dirt.  I know how hard it is to resist the urge to clean a silver coin.  Just my humble opinion.

Thank you for your response, rwsnc.  If one uses the method described above, there is very little chance of leaving hairline "whizz" marks on the coin.  And any of the major grading services will slab it for you.  I never field-clean anything.  No spit-cleaning.  No rubbing on the jeans or grinding the dirt into the face of the coin with the fingers.  If I can't see the date, then I'm not certain I have a common year and mintmark yet.  Best to leave it alone.  I also don't like to clean my common date silvers either.  I know many on this forum do.  Let's do the math...  If I find 500 common date Mercury dimes by the time old age keeps me from detectin', then these should be worth $1 to $3 apiece (using today's prices--these won't go up dramatically in price).  If I field clean them all, not only do I risk damaging a 1942 overdate, 1916-D, or the scarcer 1921 coins, but I also have lowered the value of every single one of the coins to just over silver content.  Due to the quantity coins I have unearthed, my collection has become much less valuable.  And that's just the Mercury Dimes...

All the Best,

Buckleboy

Nice coin Swanie!! Not only to find one of those but to find two of them is unheard of...My buddy just found one one of those in fine or extra fine condition. I told him it is a find of a lifetime. We were hunting a church yard when he found his. Congrats.

unreal two 1916 d dimes -- since you got two sell the lesser one and keep the better one  --- take it easy -- use a poly type digger towel to avoid the damage -- ouch those nicks really hurt on goodies like that  and cost you some  serious $$$ too --- Ivan

Beautiful, simply put.

Weren't our old coins better looking than the modern ones

Awesome find, Wai2kewl. KOD!!!!
http://www.coinfacts.com/dimes/merc...y_dimes/1916d_mercury_head_dime.htm

Nice nice nice

Very nice job on the 1916D merucry dime!!!

very nice

real nice find

You got yourself the rarest mercury dime in the collection, only 250,000 were made and are rare and expensive.That one you got there i would class it as AU-50.but i looked at the back and it doesnt have double bars and you scrathced it so i would bump it down one grade to EF-40. So you have yourself a coin worth about 2,750 dollars. You are extremely lucky to have found that in a park.

Awesome coin!  Even w/ nicks and cleaning, this is still worth $$$.  Tough lesson, though.  Great find!

Youre wrong there, if he cleaned it, it would of brought the value down a --deleted--load and the fact it doesnt have double bars and theirs nicks in it. its not worth as much as it would of. if he hadnt of cleaned it i would grade it as EF-40, but since he cleaned it i would drop the grade to VF-20. and if didnt have any knicks or if he hadnt cleaned it i would have no doubt it would be AU-50 which is worth 9,000 dollars but now its only worth 1,500 dollars because he cleaned it and knicked it.

Super super find!

What's incredible is finding 2 of them!

super rare! digging up silver so nice! 
I'm sure your wallet will be happy after that sells

nice coin ...congrats !

Good find   cool swaniel1    here is some of some of my finds   two 1936 mercury dimes and 1917

   that was a good find swaniel1 


c.a.s. hunter