1916 Dimes with pronounced rim fin.

RWB

Anyone have 1916 "Mercury" dimes with a noticeable fin sticking above the normal rim? (Breen calls this "wire rim" which it is not.)

Likely not visible on coins entombed in plastic.

sinin1

you mean the proof coins?

OneCent

I think that he means the 1916 merc business strike examples that were coined on overweight planchets. This caused the excess metal to protrude up and over the collar. Hence the name rim fin or wire rim.

RWB

Normal production coins but with a pronounced fin of metal slightly higher than the rim. (There were no 1916 proof dimes.)

sinin1

what about the edge of this one ?
it has that double struck edge look

sinin1

how about this one?
it is special - a J-1984

RWB

It should look like a normal coin, except with a thin knife-like piece extending above the outside of the rim.

PS: Nice pattern piece!

Harry779

there is a proof.its in the smithsonian.

"1916 Business Strike Examples" that were coined on "Overweight Planchets".This caused the metal to protrude up and over the collar,hence the name rim fin or wire rim"

does this mean that these "fin" or "wire rim" coins were never circulation coins?

do you know what weight these business strike examples were vs. regular strike coins?

thanks

fcloud

I just going to add to the confusion. Did you know that the 1916 Mercury Dimes are high relief?

All 1916 and some of the 1917 coins have more depth than the rest of the series. If you look at enough circulated coins it becomes more obvious than on the uncirculated coins. The wear patterns are different for the first type than the balance of the series.

Harry779

yes i know the 1916 is high relief.

i just took a look at your mercury variety set.

i didnt know about the 1928 Large S.

so i got out the book.....and...I have one.

your population specs seem to indicate these are scarce...?

fcloud

The 1928-S can be found fairly easily, some of the other are no as easy. They just stated listing the variety sets a bit over a year ago, so all the variety pops are low right now. I think I have about three coins which have total pop of 1. I have a better 28-large S but I need to send it in one of these days. With all the varieties in the set there are still some not graded, so the set cannot be completed until some of those are found. Thanks for you comments.



<< <i>yes i know the 1916 is high relief.

i just took a look at your mercury variety set.

i didn't know about the 1928 Large S.

so i got out the book.....and...I have one.

your population specs seem to indicate these are scarce...? >>

Harry779

the reason i was asking about the wire rim 1916 is because i have one.
it appears to be a matte coin with a black appearance.
hard to explain,kind of like a black crome.
the coin is original and untouched.
its thick.
the edge of the coin is much wider than a 1917.
when you stack a 1917 on top,the difference is easy to spot.
the rim edge has a different spacing than a 1917.
the edge looks like a brake rotor.thick.
so i have just been doing research on the coin.

fcloud

Can you get a photo of the rim, and the whole coin?



<< <i>the reason i was asking about the wire rim 1916 is because i have one.
it appears to be a matte coin with a black appearance.
hard to explain,kind of like a black crome.
the coin is original and untouched.
its thick.
the edge of the coin is much wider than a 1917.
when you stack a 1917 on top,the difference is easy to spot.
the rim edge has a different spacing than a 1917.
the edge looks like a brake rotor.thick.
so i have just been doing research on the coin. >>

Harry779

side view of my 1916 "wire rim Mercury.the lower coin is 1916....upper coin is 1917

fcloud

It sure is a beauty. I'm not an error expert, but I'll give you my opinion anyway.

The coin could be on a thick planchet, but it could also just be a strike with a lot (really a lot) of pressure which pushed metal out. I don't think proof, but for your sake it sure would be a great find if it was.

The coin detail is all there for the obverse with great hair detail. If it was a proof I would think the coin will be full bands on the reverse. By the photo it looks weak in the area of the center band.

Thanks for posting your photos.

Harry779

well you have to remember that somewhere along the line,the coin was in circulation.
i bought it back in the early 60's and its been sitting in a book since then.
i have no idea how much travel the coin saw between 1916 and 1964.

Harry779

Here are better pictures taken in daylight.
And yes there is 1 known matte or satin proof.It's in the Smithsonian.
Breen and others say there were more than 1 proof made.
So does this look like it could be a satin or matte coin?

RWB

Harry779’s coin shows the fin very well.

I’m looking for other 1916 dimes showing the same defect. It is something that I think would be of interest to collectors (along with the high relief), but has been little publicized. There is some information in Renaissance of American Coinage 1916-1921 and I have a little more in my research files. There’s enough for an article about the same length as the one on the recessed date of the SL quarter in next week’s Coin World.