In 1915, the Mint started the ball rolling to secure a new coin design to replace the Seated Liberty dime that had been in circulation since 1892. But the debut of the coin was misunderstood by the press, and it was nicknamed “Mercury” instead. In actuality, the profile on the dime is a Winged Liberty Head – a woman wearing the Phrygian Cap of Liberty with wings denoting freedom. It has become part of the American lexicon. Yet these ideas persist, and coin collectors continue to call the early 20th century American 10-cent coin the Mercury Dime. The Mercury dime doesn’t feature an image of the Roman god Mercury on its obverse side. Betsy Ross didn’t sew the first American Flag. The Pilgrims didn’t initially land on a rock at Plymouth Harbor. Image courtesy of Gold Standard Auctions and LiveAuctioneers A 1916 D Mercury Dime, graded as nearly uncirculated, sold for $4,250 plus the buyer’s premium in October 2020 at Gold Standard Auctions.
