If your dime displays distinctly sharp details overall, especially on the reverse of the coin, it becomes a candidate for the Extremely Fine grade. A coin with visual contours within the face and hair of Liberty suggest the Fine grade. A faded 'worn' look signals a dime in the good grade. Video | Descriptions | Images identify the indicators to grading Mercury dimes.įirst impressions of your coin is an indication of its overall grade. These different stages of wear are judged and used to assign a grade. Major and minor elements of the design fade and eventually merge. Once a Mercury dime enters circulation and begins to wear, distinct patterns to this wear develop. Gem specimens of the regular-issue 1942 Mercury dimes are much more affordable, at about $30 each.Coin Values Moving with Precious Metals: Up-Dated : Gold $2082 | Silver $25.36 Grading Mercury Dimes | How to Video * Values are for coins in a grade of Extremely Fine-40, unless otherwise noted.Īs Mercury dime aficionados will note, MS-65 specimens of the 1942/1 dime from Philadelphia are much scarcer than overdate Mercury dimes in a similar grade from Denver, with prices of around $15,000 for the former and $8,000 for the latter. Mint to focus on producing regular-strike coinage and, later, medals for soldiers returning home from their duties overseas.īelow are mintage figures and values for 1942 Mercury dimes: Outside of the overdates, the only other standout occurrence for 1942 Mercury dimes is the fact that it was the last date in the series for which proof specimens would be struck. Making matters even more interesting – and costly for Mercury dime enthusiasts – is that this variety was created at two mint locations: Philadelphia and Denver.

This rare variety, created when two obverse dies were made by the impression of first a 1941 Mercury dime hub then one from 1942, is the most popular for the series and indeed quite rare. 1942 would have been a relatively uneventful year for the Mercury dime if not for a die variation that caused quite a stir in the numismatic community – the 1942/1 overdate variety.

Mercury dime 1942 difference