1942/1-D Mercury Dime

In 1942, legions of US troops were leaving their homes to fight in faraway places overseas.

At that time, the U.S. Mint was escalating coining activity to meet the demands of a growing wartime economy. More than 300 million dimes were produced that year, the most ever up to that point.

Amid this frenzied pace, somehow two obverse Mercury Dime dies were hit by a hub dated 1941, followed by a second hit with a 1942 hub, causing a “2 over 1” error. The die with the more noticeable goof stayed at the Philadelphia Mint, where it made a small, unknown number of 1942/1 dimes.

The other die was shipped to the Denver Mint, where it was placed into service.

By March 1943, numismatists were writing about the 1942/1 overdate. Amazingly, the 1942/1-D error was not documented until 1960. Since their discoveries, Mercury Dime collectors have highly prized both 1942 overdates.