Coin reference › Ten-cent pieces: key dates and major varieties
Ten-cent pieces: key dates and major varieties
The 1916-D Mercury dime is the key that everybody knows and almost nobody finds, and the counterfeits are common enough that the mint mark deserves a proper look rather than a glance. The rest of the series rewards attention to strike as much as to date.
| Coin | Year | Mintage | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1796 P | dimes-draped-bust | 1796 | 22,135 | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1797 P 13 Stars | dimes-draped-bust | 1797 | N/A | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1797 P 16 Stars | dimes-draped-bust | 1797 | N/A | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1798 P 8 Over 7 - 13 Stars | dimes-draped-bust | 1798 | N/A | Error / die variety |
| 1798 P Large 8 | dimes-draped-bust | 1798 | N/A | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1798 P Small 8 | dimes-draped-bust | 1798 | N/A | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1800 P | dimes-draped-bust | 1800 | 21,760 | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1801 P | dimes-draped-bust | 1801 | 34,640 | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1802 P | dimes-draped-bust | 1802 | 10,975 | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1803 P | dimes-draped-bust | 1803 | 33,040 | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1804 P 13 Stars | dimes-draped-bust | 1804 | N/A | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1804 P 14 Stars | dimes-draped-bust | 1804 | N/A | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1809 P | dimes-capped-bust | 1809 | 51,065 | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1822 P | dimes-capped-bust | 1822 | 100,000 | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1824 P 4 Over 2 - Pointed Top 1 | dimes-capped-bust | 1824 | N/A | Error / die variety |
| 1829 P Curl Base 2 | dimes-capped-bust | 1829 | N/A | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1859 P Transitional Pattern: Obverse of 1859 - Reverse of 1860 | dimes-seated-liberty | 1859 | N/A | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1860 O | dimes-seated-liberty | 1860 | 40,000 | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1871 CC | dimes-seated-liberty | 1871 | 20,100 | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1872 CC | dimes-seated-liberty | 1872 | 35,480 | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1873 CC | dimes-seated-liberty | 1873 | 18,791 | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1873 CC No Arrows | dimes-seated-liberty | 1873 | 12,400 | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1874 CC | dimes-seated-liberty | 1874 | 10,817 | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1894 S | dimes-barber | 1894 | 24 | Date / mint / design issue |
| 1916 D | Mercury dime | 1916 | 264,000 | Date / mint / design issue |
The difficulty
The problem with the 1916-D is counterfeits, and the commonest one is an added mint mark taken off a cheap coin and attached to a common date. It is the single most faked coin in American pocket-change numismatics.
An added mint mark leaves a seam, a difference in surface texture and usually a slightly wrong depth. NumismaLab shows the surface at magnification and measures the mark's relief against the field around it. It will not tell you a coin is genuine - nothing that works from a photograph can - but it shows you the surface clearly enough to take the question to somebody who can settle it.
What to look for
Added and altered mint marks on the 1916-D, the 1942/1 overdates, and full bands on the fasces, which changes the value of an otherwise ordinary date.
Photographing these
A dime is 17.91 mm, the smallest common target on the bench. Get the mint mark large in the frame and light it so the edges of the letter are sharp.
The five-day trial needs no card. Put a coin under whatever scope you have and see whether the bench tells you something you did not already know.
Try it on your own coinsMore lists
Compiled 2026-09-15. Mintages and designations are matters of record; which coins are worth a second look is an editorial judgement, and this page says so rather than pretending otherwise.
