Rare Dimes: United States Dimes with a Bright Future

United States Rare Dimes
	The rare dimes showing up in our "Bullish US Coins" section are the cream of the crop of US dime coins. Due mostly to strong collector demand, price advancements over a period of many years in the past has been the norm, and we can logically expect to see continued value appreciation in the future. 1916-D Mercury dime

Date: 1916-D Series: Mercury dimes Mint: Denver

G R A D E	Estimated Coin Value in Year...					Compounded Annual % Rate of Return Since...
	1950	1980	1995	2002	2007	1950	1980	1995	2002
VG-8	6.50	400	600	750	1750	10.31	5.62	9.33	18.47
F-12	15.00	550	1200	1250	3000	9.74	6.48	7.93	19.14
VF-20	25.00	725	1600	1500	4500	9.54	7.00	9.00	24.57
XF-40	50.00	1000	2500	2500	6250	8.84	7.02	7.93	20.11
AU-50	70.00	1250	3750	4000	10000	9.10	8.01	8.52	20.11
MS-60	100	2000	4300	4750	15000	9.19	7.75	10.97	25.86
MS-63	---	---	5000	5500	17500	---	---	11.00	26.05
MS-65	---	---	11000	16000	30000	---	---	8.72	13.40
FSB-65	---	---	15000	40000	60000	---	---	12.25	8.45
MS-67	---	---	---	---	45000	---	---	---	---
FSB-67	---	---	---	110 K	150 K	---	---	---	6.40

Comments: The 1916-D is the key coin of the Mercury dime set.  Note that value growth in the lower grades outpaces the pristine grades, more than likely as a result of steady purchasing by generations of collectors of average financial means seeking to round out their Mercury dime collections.   In the last decade or so, Full Split Bands (FSB) has become a very important modifier to Mercury dime values.  True FSB Mercs nearly always command a hefty premium over non-FSB examples of similar MS grade.   Never buy a 1916-D from a questionable source.  As is the case with many US coins in high demand, dishonest individuals have cheated the system by altering other Mercs to resemble this rare dime.

The Year This Coin Was Minted... The world was horrified in 1916 by the ongoing carnage of the Great War (later renamed WWI), as the European nations fought to a stalemate.  The following year, American "doughboys" arrived en masse "Over There", turning the tide of war in favor of the Allied Powers.   Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa and his gang murdered 18 Americans in northern Mexico, then crossed the border and ransacked Columbus, NM, killing 17 more US citizens.  In March, 1916, US President Woodrow Wilson retaliated by sending General John J. Pershing and 5000 troops into Mexico to capture Villa "dead or alive".  Pershing returned home in early 1917, with Villa still at large.   President Wilson narrowly won re-election in 1916, defeating Charles Evans Hughes, by a count of 277-254 in the Electoral College.   Also in 1916, a new style of music called Jazz swept across the US, the National Park Service was established, and Boston (AL) defeated Brooklyn (NL) in the baseball World Series.

General John J. Pershing and Pancho Villa, photographed together in 1914.  Two years later, Pershing led US soldiers into Mexico to hunt down Villa, but returned home empty-handed.

©Copyright 2007 by us-coin-values.advisor.com. Coin Photo courtesy of Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, Inc., Beverly Hills, CA. Image courtesy of Library of Congress.

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