a VERY humble 1916-D Mercury, but I'm glad to finally have one

DennisH

Just got this back from PCGS. Bought it right and it doesn't look too horrible for a Fair-02, does it?

JRocco

Any original 16D is a nice coin.

CoinResource

Nice coin!! Congrats!! -craig

FatMan

That is a very cool looking coin. To think it circulated for so long before anyone recognized its value. Congrats.

clw54

It's beautiful. I bought a raw 1916-D a few years ago as an AG3 and that's the way it came back from PCGS. It's a good feeling to "make" a 1916-D in any grade.

GoYankees

bgrice

Kudos on the 16-D merc.

51plymouth

Any 1916 D is better than no 1916 D. Iwish I had one.

fcloud

Congrats. Nice coin that just shows wear--no harm or damage.

mrearlygold

Congrats!

Think about all the little transactions that one was involved in!

Tom

LincolnCentMan

That's awesome dude!!!

David

gyocomgd

Yessir, it's very fulfilling to have on of those in any grade. There is a fellow in my town who is 88 years old and still runs a coin shop out of the bottom floor in a three-family house. When he goes to coin shows, his much younger wife and a young guy who bring his inventory in and out of the auditoriums, he just sits there. Everybody locally knows and loves him. He told me he's loved coins since he was a child, when "nobody else did it" in his words. He said he gathered the lion's share of his really rare and valuable coins as a soldier stationed in Itally during WW II, where soldiers spent money like it was going out of style. He recalled that when he was about 15 years old, he met a like-minded enthusiast who had "30 or 40" 1916-Ds and showed them to him. He said the memory has never left him, because the dimes all were barely circulated if at all and that today they would be worth a large fortune. This old gent says his personal collection is worth $1.5 million, but that the memory of all those '16-D's in one place is the most salient thing in his experience as a collector. He noted that even in the 1930s, 1916-D's were hard to come by because they just didn't make very many of them.

Nickelback

Thanks for the pics gyocomgd! History is the "big deal" with me and I'm thankful for personal recollections -

oreville

No 1916-D dime that is genuine is humble!!!!!

Even in F-02 grade, such dime is indeed among the elixir of all 20th century coinage and possibly the most famous dime ever.

Vet

Congrats on the 16 d I just got an ag03 a couple weeks ago.

jimtre

Scheesch!

Many (Many) years ago I was building a mercury dime set (and also kinda shirts tail dealing). I had a 16D in AG and didn't like it, just wanted a better grade. Anyway I sold it to a friend of mine for $55 planning on replacing it with a vg or better.

Well, I never did come accross another (my budget was/is small). I get sick wondering why I didn't get the upgrade before selling the AG.

The whole is still there. I have come accross several 21P in AG. Kept those but don't know why.

Jim

DennisH

What FatMan said is exactly what has been bouncing around in my head ever since this old girl was offered to me: How did it manage to stay in circulation, apparently far under the numismatic radar screen, long enough to become so worn? The wear doesn't look like what I would expect from anything but normal circulation, so I'm left with the opinion that... well, people just didn't notice it for an awful lot of years. But the fact that it was recognized as a scarce coin right from the beginning still makes me wonder, "How in the world..."

Neat stuff to think about.

millennium

I have always wondered how any of the so called"key date" coins got any amount of wear....It seems to me as soon as someone saw it it would have been plucked from circulation...

Bear

Be it ever so humble, a 16-D

is a fine thing indeed.

Punscoins

Nice coin, I want one!!!

Marc Vetsch

michael

it is a clear date and mintmark dove grey original no problem coin in a pcgs holder really sweet clean

i would easily pay strong ag money for it

i would love this coin and it is instantly saleable on many want lists and just one cool coin

everybody knows one of the top ten coins of the 20th century is the 16-d

one of the best lower grade eye appealling 16-d i have ever seen

Dennis88

kenoshapete

Outstanding!!! Way to go. I'm envious.......... Some day I'll have one of those.

BigD5

Congrats on the '16-d, and a great looking example at the grade.

oreville

How in the world.....?

Collectors in the far midwest (as well as the rest of the country) were not quite yet into date/mm collecting back in the teens and twenties. By the time the Great Depression occurred in the 30's, well worn 1916-D dimes were not hunted down with the same intensity as higher grade 16-D dimes. Note how the same thing nearly occurred with the 1932-D quarter?

This explains why so many 1916-D dimes are in uncirculated as well as low circulated grades but why so few survived in EF and AU condition. To find a 1916-D dime in AU condition is an unusual find.

The coins from San Francisco starting with the 1909-S VDB cent was the first time a mint marked coin was really sought after but that was more due to a "VDB" phenomen versus the "S" mint craze. It was not until 1931 when the extreme rarity of the affordable 1931-S cents with its under 1 million mintage set the nation on a craze hunting down every 1931-S cent it could find. That explain why 1932-S quarters are not so rare in uncirculated condition versus the 1932-D quarter since the "S" mint mark was much more desired. It was not until the mid/late 30's that collectors began to realize that they goofed in not hunting down the remaining and now well worn 1916-D dimes in earlier years.

Congrats to Dennis on a fine purchase. Every collector in the USA, including Eliasberg. dreamed of finding a 1916-D dime in circulation!

sumnom

Beautiful!

Fairlaneman

Your coin is a very clean good looking coin. Very nice for the grade.

vega1

Congratulations! I too am envious. That is a solid coin and a great addition to any collection.