Numismatic

1924-S Mercury Dime XF

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The 1924 silver ten-cent piece struck at the San Francisco Mint represents a fascinating chapter in American coinage. Known popularly as the Mercury dime, this series features a design by Adolph Weinman. The obverse depicts a young Lady Liberty wearing a winged Phrygian cap, an image that contemporary observers often mistook for the Roman messenger god, Mercury. The winged cap was intended to symbolize freedom of thought. On the reverse, the design presents a fasces, an ancient symbol of authority consisting of a bundle of rods bound around an axe, intertwined with an olive branch. This combination represents the readiness to defend the nation paired with a deep desire for peace. The inscriptions on the coin include the national motto, "E PLURIBUS UNUM," alongside "ONE DIME" and "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA." With a purity of 90 percent silver, this specific coin contains approximately 0.0715 troy ounces of precious metal. Out of a total mintage of 7,120,000 pieces struck in San Francisco for the year, this specimen survives in Extra Fine condition, preserving the sharp details of Weinman's intricate engraving.