1916-D 10C, FB MS(PCGS#4907)

November 2021 Baltimore U.S. Coins auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

4026

等级

MS62FB

价格

145,261

详细说明

Fabled Key Date 1916-D Mercury Dime 1916-D Mercury Dime. MS-62 FB (PCGS). OGH--First Generation. Offered is a sharply struck Mint State example of this ever-popular 1916-D Mercury dime. Dusted with pale silver and warmer reddish-apricot patina, both sides possess full mint luster in a satin to softly frosted texture. Sharply struck from the rims to the centers with an uncommonly smooth appearance in hand for the assigned grade. In 1916, Adolph A. Weinman's Winged Liberty dime design entered production. Over 22 million were coined at Philadelphia and another 10 million at San Francisco that first year and were released to the general public en masse in late October. They circulated widely in the East and in the West. Numismatists sought out high grade examples of the new design and were satisfied. At the Denver Mint, the dimes were not a priority denomination at that time and so when production started, it was not in large numbers. On November 24, the Denver Mint received a rush order for 4,000,000 quarters of the outgoing Barber type to supplement the roughly 2.5 million already struck. The production of dimes was immediately halted to divert resources toward that effort, by which time only 264,000 dimes had come off the press. A legendary key date was born. These few coins were mostly distributed in Montana and the Upper Midwest in November of the year, where not many coin collectors saved the issue and certainly not in high grade. The true rarity of this issue was not revealed until interest in collecting the series by mintmark took off in the 1930s and the hunt was on. Ever since, generations of collectors have searched accumulations of Mercury dimes in the hope of finding this rarity. As most 1916-D dimes saw extensive circulation before they were found by numismatists, finding even a mid-grade example is challenging. Today, most specimens grade no better than VG. Only 1% of the 10,000 estimated by PCGS to survive would qualify as Mint State. Fortunately, the issue was well struck and the bands on the fasces on the reverse are often clearly defined. For the advanced collector, this is a highly desirable coin that is destined to find a home in an important cabinet. PCGS# 4907. NGC ID: 23GY. Click here for certification details from PCGS.