The 1916-D Mercury Dime is one of the most sought-after coins in American numismatics. It was the inaugural year for the Mercury Dime series and is a prized piece among collectors due to its low mintage, historical significance, and rarity.
Silver dimes, like all 90% silver US coinage are sometimes referred to as “junk silver”. This is a common term adopted from the coin collecting industry for coins that have little to no numismatic value. Their value lies strictly in the silver content.
Until 1965, U.S. dimes were composed of 90% silver and 10% copper. However, because of rising silver prices, the U.S. Mint decided to continue debasement of coinage by changing the composition of dimes to a copper-nickel alloy, starting with the clad coin production in 1965. Today’s dimes are composed of 91.67% copper and 8.33% nickel.
Online bullion dealers typically offer 90% silver dimes based on the face value that each contains. For example, a $5 Face Value standard bank roll of silver dimes will contain fifty individual pieces that were minted Pre-1965. Each circulated silver dime contains approximately .0715 troy ounces, with each standard $5 Bank Roll of silver dimes having a total of 3.575 troy ounces ASW.