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Melt Values/ Silver / Silver Dime — Mercury & Roosevelt (–1964, 90% Silver)
FACE $0.102.5 G0.07234 OZT AG
OverviewThe storyKey datesSpecificationsGradingQuestions
Melt Intelligence0.07234 ozt AgFace $0.10

Silver Dime — Mercury & Roosevelt (–1964, 90% Silver)

Billions struck; the workhorse of junk-silver bags at 0.0723 ozt each.

Silver Dime — Mercury & Roosevelt (–1964, 90% Silver)WIKIMEDIA COMMONS · Public domain · BrandonBigheart for the photograph; Adolph Weinman for the coin design.
Silver Dime — Mercury & Roosevelt (–1964, 90% Silver) — coin photograph
Designer
Adolph A. Weinman (Mercury, 1916); John R. Sinnock (Roosevelt, 1946)
OBSERVED
Years Struck
Barber to 1916; Mercury 1916–1945; Roosevelt 1946–1964 in silver
OBSERVED
Mints
Philadelphia, Denver (D), San Francisco (S)
OBSERVED
02

The story

Weinman's Winged Liberty — universally misread as the god Mercury — is widely considered one of the most beautiful US coin designs. The Roosevelt dime followed within a year of FDR's death, honoring his connection to the March of Dimes. Both vanished from circulation within three years of the 1965 clad switch as the public hoarded silver; today they are the standard unit of American junk silver, trading in $1,000-face bags that contain 715 ounces of the metal.

Weinman's model for Liberty was Elsie Stevens — landlady tenant of the poet Wallace Stevens.

03

Key dates worth real money

Check these before treating any coin as melt. Think you have one? Check recent auction records before selling, and read the grading basics first.

DateWhy it matters
1916-D Mercury264,000 minted — a four-figure coin even in well-worn grades
1942/1 MercuryOverdate in both P and D — strong five-figure coins in high grade
1949-S RooseveltThe Roosevelt semi-key, modest premium
04

Specifications

SpecificationValue
Diameter17.91 mm
Weight2.5 g
EdgeReeded
Composition90% Ag, 10% Cu
Actual silver weight0.07234 ozt
05

Grading and authentication

Grading: where wear shows first
On Mercuries, wear hits the wing feathers and the fasces bands - Full Bands examples are the grade-makers. On silver Roosevelts, the torch lines.

Never clean a coin. Ever. Cleaning permanently destroys collector value — dark original toning is worth more than shiny damage.

Counterfeit check
The 1916-D Mercury is among the most-faked US coins: added 'D' mint marks on Philadelphia coins. Any raw 1916-D should be presumed altered until certified.

Gear that settles it: an electromagnetic verifier, a calibrated scale and calipers — counterfeit basics.

06

Questions people actually ask

What dimes are silver?

Every US dime dated 1964 or earlier is 90% silver - about $5.00 of metal at $69 spot. Check dates on every dime in an inheritance jar.

What is a 'junk silver' dime worth?

Common dates trade at melt plus a small premium - dealers quote junk silver at a multiple of face value (roughly 50x face at $69 silver).

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