The Mercury Dime is also known as the Winged Liberty Head Dime.  It depicts the head in profile of Lady Liberty wearing a winged cap.  It became known as the Mercury dime because of its resemblence to the messenger god, Mercury, in spite of the fact that supposedly representing freedom of thought. The design was created by Adolph A. Weinman, a first time designer who went on to later design other coins for the mint.  The Mercury Dime was minted from 1916 to 1945 at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints. The reverse depicted an ancient Roman fasces, a symbol of authority and an olive branch, a symbol of peace.

The introduction of the Mercury Dime was a part of a total overhaul of the design on the United State’s coinage.  Starting in 1909 with the introduction of the Lincoln Cent, and in 1913 with the Buffalo Head Nickel, the next in line were the Barber coins, the dime, quarter and half-dollar.  The Coinage Act of 1890 restricted the changing of design in the United State’s coinage to every twenty-five years.  The Barber coins, which had been in circulation since 1892, weren’t allowed to be phased out as early as the cent and nickel. [Read more...]