Unusual question about a Mercury dime.....not what might be expected.

RogerB · August 19, 2017 9:42AM

A few days ago a new correspondent sent the following question. It had a blank 'Subject' field and ended up in the spam box along with a very sincere message from the Assistant Minister of Oil and Gas for Nigeria!

"Sorry to bother you but i have a coin question. i inherited a jar of old shiny dimes and my minister told me that they was mercury dimes. i seen mercury in thermometers and things like that and was wondering how they kept the mercury dimes solid when all the mercury i seen is liquid."

How would you answer this serious question? ....or would you have a double Glenfiddich and skip to the Nigerian letter?

OldEastside · August 19, 2017 9:58AM

Hmmm, nothing about wanting you to launder 10 million through your bank account and letting you keep half

Steve

OldEastside · August 19, 2017 10:01AM

Or you could tell him Mercury dimes are liquid as Bullion

Steve

Zoins · August 19, 2017 10:02AM

Here's a follow up question:

What does solid mercury look like? Got a photo?
http://www.intelligentanswers.co.uk/index.php?topic=9328.0

I was also wondering what mercury actually looks like when it is discovered in its natural habitat (wherever that is!).

Is it liquid when it is discovered? I presume it is but what then makes it a solid?

I used to think it was freezing temperatures but then I saw this propeller made with a solid mercury hub...so it can't be temperature that makes mercury solid. Can anybody explain this too?

Answer:

I just thought maybe the Mercury hub is not a mercury (small M) hub but a hub from a Mercury (big M, brand name) engine? Feel a bit daft if it is.
This mercury is indeed a brand name associated with outboard motors. No doubt so named because of an allusion to speed associated with the winged messenger god.

AUandAG · August 19, 2017 10:02AM

LOL

Mercury mixed with cattle saliva turns it to a metal.
bob

BackroadJunkie · August 19, 2017 10:11AM

If this wasn't a troll, it certainly should have been.

ctf_error_coins · August 19, 2017 10:21AM

They only stay solid if kept in a jar made of transparent aluminum

LindeDad · August 19, 2017 10:52AM

And then Mercury had wings on his feet. But just like dog pooh it's not there anymore.

3keepSECRETif2rDEAD · August 19, 2017 10:55AM

@BackroadJunkie said:
If this wasn't a troll, it certainly should have been.

Tricky situation as IQ levels should at least break into the mid-70's to properly perform as an internet troll...I think your dealing with a moron at the very least here, good luck...

RogerB · August 19, 2017 10:59AM

Might just take up the oil and gas offer -- I really do not want to find out how the 'Mercury dime' fellow got my email. (Heck, I sometimes forget it...)

Shamika · August 19, 2017 11:36AM

Mercury dime made out of mercury. That's a new one.

RogerB · August 19, 2017 12:26PM

It's hard to capitalize when talking to your minister.....

logger7 · August 19, 2017 12:37PM

Many of the experimental dies were soaked in mercury (the fluid) overnight, it helped them from a preservation standpoint and they actually lasted a lot longer, which they kept doing. Also a number of the workers on the minting press were unfortunately exposed to the mercury toxins which can be quite deadly. Though it was decades before injury lawsuits gained sway, surviving children and grandchildren of those affected were able to sue due to loss of the affections they would have gotten had they not succumbed to the vapors. Also if you look at the historical price of mercury you can see the price bump when the dimes started to be minted through the end of the 1940s.

RogerB · August 19, 2017 1:16PM

BillJones · August 19, 2017 1:25PM

It's a new alloy of mercury. When you mix it with copper, it gets harder, right?

golden · August 19, 2017 2:04PM

I have not laughed that much in a long time. Thanks.

WillieBoyd2 · August 19, 2017 2:10PM

Mercury dimes were flown on the Mercury space project to the planet Mercury.

CaptHenway · August 19, 2017 2:14PM

@RogerB said:
A few days ago a new correspondent sent the following question. It had a blank 'Subject' field and ended up in the spam box along with a very sincere message from the Assistant Minister of Oil and Gas for Nigeria!

"Sorry to bother you but i have a coin question. i inherited a jar of old shiny dimes and my minister told me that they was mercury dimes. i seen mercury in thermometers and things like that and was wondering how they kept the mercury dimes solid when all the mercury i seen is liquid."

How would you answer this serious question? ....or would you have a double Glenfiddich and skip to the Nigerian letter?

Sounds like the kind of question my 97 y.o. mother might ask. I would suggest that you give the person the benefit of the doubt, and treat it as a legitimate serious question worthy of a short but helpful answer.
TD

RogerB · August 19, 2017 2:15PM

Mad as a hatter, eh?

RogerB · August 19, 2017 2:16PM

"I would suggest that you give the person the benefit of the doubt, and treat it as a legitimate serious question worthy of a short but helpful answer."

Good approach --- but I'll have the scotch first.

BStrauss3 · August 20, 2017 7:29AM

It's really just a m\aths question...

The freezing point of mercury (-37.89F) is just about where the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales are identical (-40). So clearly the mercury Mercury dimes were minted at the Barrow mint in the winter. They were, however, all thought to have been melted when they were shipped to the lower 48.

RogerB · August 20, 2017 8:51AM

Those are wonderful explanations .....but I responded with a simple factual comment that should help the writer.

Sooo...is the Barrow Alaska Mint using the "B" mintmark found on early 20th century silver coins? I am told that the "M" on many silver dollars is for the branch mint in Mongolia. Also is that where the two coin sides are struck separately and that explains the "M" on both sides?

1630Boston · August 20, 2017 8:55AM

I would not venture a guess as to how to respond to that

MrEureka · August 20, 2017 10:09AM

It is not a coincidence that mercury dimes are extremely rare today. Indeed, virtually all are believed to have splattered into non-existence. (It takes only a small impact, like falling onto a concrete sidewalk, to turn solid mercury into liquid.) Today, just about the only mercury dimes remaining are the true mercury ones carefully protected at the Smithsonian, and many more that were accidentally struck in silver. Unfortunately, the only way to know exactly what you have is to drop each coin on the floor. It one of them splatters, it was worth millions!

RogerB · August 20, 2017 11:11AM

Ahhh.....so it is a metaphase of mercury that was cleverly used by the Mint to make money that might literally "run through your fingers."

Cameonut · August 20, 2017 3:26PM

Many people aren't as "smart" as us coin nerds.

I'd simply explain that the term "Mercury Dime" relates to the depiction of Liberty on the front that is similar to the Roman god Mercury. These dimes were made from 1916 to 1946 and contain about $1.25 worth of silver unless it is a rare date. It is not made of mercury. Do not clean your coins if you are interested in selling. A coin dealer is a potential way to sell your coins if interested.

Take the high road

astrorat · August 21, 2017 2:03PM

That's the first time I have heard that question. Sounds like a legitimate desire to know why the "mercury" is different in the dimes than in his/her experience. A great time to educate rather than humiliate (not that you would try to humiliate, Roger).

RogerB · August 21, 2017 3:09PM

Already sent a courteous response explaining the name.

DBSTrader2 · August 22, 2017 4:57AM

Wait.... so what's the CORRECT answer?

RogerB · August 22, 2017 6:48AM

The universally correct answer is: "42"

Coinosaurus · August 22, 2017 9:56AM

In high school chemistry class we played around with mercury like it was Play-Doh. The teacher didn't seem to mind. Of course, this was in the 1970s.......

PRECIOUSMENTAL · August 22, 2017 10:35AM

Same here, it was elementary school in the '60s.
I recall not too many years ago where a child brought some to school, teacher spotted it, the entire building and hvac was scrubbed.

RogerB · August 22, 2017 11:20AM

I did a HS Chemistry class demo on mercury amalgamation of gold and distillation. Got an A+ but had to return the gold button to the lab stores. [For an interesting account of mercury use read the section on the "Patio Process" in my book From Mine to Mint.]

Overdate · August 22, 2017 11:46AM

All Mercury dimes are liquid. It's easy to buy and sell them.

cladking · August 22, 2017 5:00PM

Tell him he's confused and their proper name is "mercurial dime" because they're so small they're hard to nail down.

And like Ahab and MrEureka will tell you they'll just turn to liquid if you try.

2ltdjorn · August 22, 2017 7:32PM

@RogerB said:
A few days ago a new correspondent sent the following question. It had a blank 'Subject' field and ended up in the spam box along with a very sincere message from the Assistant Minister of Oil and Gas for Nigeria!

"Sorry to bother you but i have a coin question. i inherited a jar of old shiny dimes and my minister told me that they was mercury dimes. i seen mercury in thermometers and things like that and was wondering how they kept the mercury dimes solid when all the mercury i seen is liquid."

How would you answer this serious question? ....or would you have a double Glenfiddich and skip to the Nigerian letter?

Wasn't the world flat until it wasn't?