Samuel Cary

Samuel Cary is 13 years old and in 8th grade. He is mostly home-schooled, but he does attend McCook Junior High School for band (trombone) and choir. Samuel enjoys being on the YMCA McCook swim team, mountain climbing, and camping. He is also very interested in cars, specifically newer models. He likes to write stories about his hobbies and he reads a lot of books; his favorite is the series “Ranger’s Apprentice”. Samuel is the middle child of three boys and he has four pets - a dog named Mercy, a cat named Grace, a bearded dragon named Toothless, and a fish named Wilma. His favorite movie is “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith”. Samuel will be sharing a series of articles about his coin collecting hobby.

Digging into dimes

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

In this article, I will talk about three types/designs of dimes including Roosevelt Dimes, Mercury Dimes, and Barber Dimes.

The most recent design is the Roosevelt Dime. It has a side portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt on the obverse. The reverse has a picture of a torch, an olive branch, and an oak branch, meant to represent liberty, peace, and strength. This type of dime was minted from 1946-present.

Franklin Roosevelt supported the organization “March of Dimes” to raise money to cure polio, which he was diagnosed with at the age of 39.

Dimes were made of silver every year before 1965. Most silver Roosevelt Dimes are worth around $1.00-$2.00. There are a few varieties to look for. First is the 1982 no mint mark valued at $30-$50 for coins in great condition. Second, there is the 2015 P Reverse Proof. Finally, there is the 2016 W gold Mercury Dime. This is very uncommon, because these dimes were minted right before Roosevelt Dimes.

Mercury Dimes were minted from 1916-1945 and are composed of 90% silver and 10% copper. The obverse has a side portrait of Liberty wearing a winged cap. The reverse has a fasces wrapped with an olive branch (the fasces representing authority and the olive branch representing peace). Almost every coin collector dreams of finding a 1916 D Mercury Dime. If you look online, even the 1916 D’s in very poor condition are worth up to $1,000 with the pristine coins being worth $20,000. 1921 Mercury dimes are also worth more than average at $40 with under two million of each minted.

Barber Dimes were minted from 1892-1916. The mint mark is located under the wreath on the reverse, unless it’s from the Philidelphia mint (in which case there will be no mint mark). The value for these coins ranges widely from $1.75-$8,000. The rarest Barber Dime is the 1894 S. Only 24 of these were minted and five were kept for examination and safekeeping. They are valued at $1,250,000 and none are known to be rated below uncirculated.

While not known for their errors, dimes are mostly looked through for silver. I have not found much silver, but they are still fun to search through.