Mercury dimes are silver Winged Liberty dimes, 1916 to 1945
Mercury dimes are Weinman's Winged Liberty Head, 1916 through 1945. The wings belong to a cap, not the Roman god. Full Bands is a strike call on the fasces.
People say Mercury. The coin is a Winged Liberty Head dime. Adolph A. Weinman put Liberty in a winged cap, and the wings are the liberty-of-thought symbol the Mercury dime page describes, not a portrait of the Roman messenger. Circulation strikes run 1916 through 1945. The reverse is a fasces, a bundle of rods with an olive branch. If your dime has a wreath and the words ONE DIME, you are holding a Barber dime, the design this one replaced.
Bands are a strike call
The rods are bound by bands. Collectors pay attention to whether those bands are fully split. PCGS explains Full Bands as a complete separation of the central pair, with no nick or weak spot breaking the line. NGC's grading note asks for that central split and separation on the upper and lower bands too. The two services do not use the identical sentence. Neither one is a price you can copy onto a raw coin, and a scratched line someone cut into the bands is not a real split.
PCGS CoinFacts is the category page for the series. 1916-D is the date that page and ours both treat as the key. The mintage figure belongs on the series chart. It does not belong in a sentence typed from memory.
Mint mark, silver, and the next portrait
The mint mark sits on the reverse, left of the fasces. No letter means Philadelphia. Weinman's AW monogram is on the obverse, by the neck. Do not confuse that monogram with a mint mark.
These are the old silver dimes, .900 fine. The clad Roosevelt you still get in change is a later alloy and a later portrait. Silver Roosevelt dimes, 1946 through 1964, are written up separately in the pre-65 Roosevelt note.
A worn Mercury with a weak wing is a worn Mercury. Take the coin with sharp bands, or the 1916 you are unsure about, to the dealer directory instead of judging the fasces from a phone photo.
People Also Ask
Is the portrait the god Mercury?
No. Adolph A. Weinman designed Liberty in a winged cap. Collectors still say Mercury. The series page treats the wings as a symbol, not a portrait of the Roman messenger.
What does Full Bands mean?
It is a strike designation on the fasces, the bundle of rods on the reverse. PCGS looks for a complete split of the central bands. NGC also wants the upper and lower bands separated. It is not a price and not a Sheldon grade by itself.
Which side carries the mint mark?
The reverse, left of the fasces. If that spot is empty, the dime is Philadelphia.
Are Mercury dimes silver, and what comes after them?
Yes. They use the historic 90 percent silver dime. In 1946 the Mint switches to the Roosevelt portrait. Silver Roosevelt dimes through 1964 are a separate series.