Mercury Head Dime

Don’t get me wrong – the Mercury Head Dime, despite its name, doesn’t depict the Greek god Mercury…not even a trace of him!

This dime, which was first minted back in 1916, was designed by Adolf Alexander Weinman. The Mercury Dime, instead of depicting Mercury, showcases an image of Lady Liberty on the obverse side while wearing a winged cap. By the way, the mythical Mercury is a male…and instead of wearing a winged cap, he has wings on his feet!

The wings – which somehow had resemblance to Mercury, led the many to name call it as the Mercury Dime or Mercury Head Dime…a name which stuck. Just in case you don’t know, the portrait of Lady Liberty wearing a winged cap symbolizes for the freedom of thought.

Along with that, on the obverse of the coin, one can find the word LIBERTY – largely spaced and arced across the top. Additionally, one can also find a stylized version of the designer’s initials (A.A.W.) printed on the Lady Liberty’s neck. Finally, the words – IN GOD WE TRUST, appear on the bottom left side of the obverse along with the year of minting which is right below the Lady’s collar.

Onto the reverse of the coin, one can find the words – UNITED STATES OF AMERICA along the top, while at the bottom, you can find the coin’s value – ONE DIME. Still at the reverse side of the coin, at the center, you can find a depiction of fasces which is topped off by a battle axe. At the back, you can also find an olive branch wrapping the area. The words E PLURIBUS UNUM is printed to the right at the coin’s reverse side. The last proofs of the Mercury Head Dime were last minted back in 1942, and this dime’s design was abandoned 1945.