1921 Mercury Dime

While Mercury dimes from the first few years of the series are generally plentiful, at least in circulated grades (of course, not counting the 1916-D Mercury dime!), issues from 1921 are quite scarce. In fact, 1921 Mercury dimes are among the scarcest Mercury dime issues, second only to the famously rare 1916-D dime. Only a little more than 2 million Mercury dimes were struck in 1921, with few of those dimes being saved by coin collectors at the time. The result is that 1921 Mercury dimes are quite scarce today.

Here’s a glance at mintage figures and values for the 1921 Mercury dime:

• 1921, 1,230,000 minted; $65

• 1921-D, 1,080,000; $80

*Values are for coins in a grade of Good-4.

While mintages of more than 1 million for each of the two 1921 Mercury dime issues may have you thinking that they should be quite plentiful (after all, 1 million of anything is a lot, right?), it’s important to remember that relatively few of these coins were saved. Today, only a small fraction of these coins remain in collectible condition. In MS-63, either of these dimes will set coin collectors back by at least $1,800, and potentially much more if the specimens display especially sharp strike and flashy luster. Of course, paying a little extra for 1921 Mercury dimes in MS-63 won’t necessarily hurt, as they could provide a decent return on your investment dollar down the line.

In light of a recession that year, no dimes were struck in 1922.