1944 Dime
Liberty Dime Overview
1944 Mercury Dime The Mercury Dime is just one of many coins produced by the US Mint, but is easily one of the more popular coins produced through the first half of the twentieth century. Though Mercury Dimes are no longer produced by the US Mint, they are still extremely valuable as collector’s items. SILVER Roughly Size of Dime 1944 Netherlands 10 Cents World Silver Coin.410. SILVER Roughly Size of Dime 1944 Netherlands 10 Cents World Silver Coin.833. Picture Information. Opens image gallery. Image not available. Mouse over to Zoom.
The 1944 Liberty dime also called the Mercury dime is sought after by collectors and investors. This dime had a run of 39 years of production from the US mint. It was first minted in 1916, which means during the liberty dimes production it saw the United States go through the Great Depression and two world wars.
CoinTrackers.com has estimated the 1944 Mercury Dime value at an average of $2, one in certified mint state (MS+) could be worth $30. 1944 1944 Mercury dimes, like those from earlier in the decade, are highly common. As was the case in 1943, more than 300 million Mercury dimes rolled out of the United States Mint in 1944, and the date remains exceedingly common to this day, despite mass melting of the series during spikes of the silver bullion price. Mercury dimes are very popular ten-cent pieces produced by the United States Mint from 1916 to 1945. This dime is composed of 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper. The coin contains a total of just over.072 troy ounces of silver. The Mercury Dime is also commonly referred to as the Winged Liberty Head Dime and was designed by Adolph Weinman.
The Winged Liberty Dime aka the Mercury dime was designed by Adolph Weinman. The design was to depict the Roman god Mercury, but many got it confused with a young liberty. This is why many refer to this coin as the Liberty dime.
The liberty dime is desired by collectors and investors due to its metal composition. It is composed of 90% silver with the remaining 10% being copper. Due to the silver content many times investors will buy these dimes in bulk just for silver.
With the rise of vending machines, there had to be a change in the design of the dime. It was known to have issues in vending machines. So the production of the liberty dime was stopped in 1945 in favor of a dime that didn’t cause issues. So the Treasury ordered a new design featuring President Franklin Roosevelt on the new dime.
History of the 1944 Liberty Dime
The 1944 issue, the second to last year of the series, had a fairly sizable mintage of over 343 million dimes. This was the largest of the liberty dimes production years, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t value to the liberty dime.
Three locations–Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco–struck dimes in 1944. Philadelphia struck by far the most: 231,410,000. This striking of the liberty dime was actually the most struck during its run. The dime is still pretty common, even in Brilliant Uncirculated form, though most coins show weak strikes thus not many are sent for grading.
A nice doubled-die obverse is known for this issue and is popular with collectors.
Denver struck 62,224,000 dimes this year, and this issue, like that of Philadelphia, is still fairly common in Mint State. Denver mintages generally have the strongest strike of any 1944 dime issue. An RPM (repunched mint mark) is known for this issue from Denver, but it’s less common thus making it popular with collectors.
Last is San Francisco, which minted 49,490,000 dimes. This issue is common in most grades, but when it comes to full-band grades it is more scarce. Several varieties are known, including the knob tail S and repunched mint marks, of the two the knob tail S is the most scarce.
Since the 1944 Liberty dime was struck before 1965, it belongs to the silver composition dimes, meaning that it contains 90% silver and 10% copper and has a diameter of 17.8 millimeters.
Want to know more about the Liberty Dime as well as other collectible US Dimes? Be sure to check out our Ultimate Guide to Collectible Dimes.
Image Source Flickr user Upupa4me
1944 Liberty Dime Full Band
As stated above the 1944 Liberty dime was minted in great numbers but came with it was lower quality in its striking. Due to the heavy production, most coins show weak strikes thus not many are worth being sent for grading.
The key to finding a full band 1944 liberty dime would come from finding one that was uncirculated. Even if it was stuck with Full Bands it doesn’t take much circulation of the dime to wear it down.
1944 Liberty Dimes that display Full Bands are rare and worth much more than similar grade coins. If you think you have a liberty dime with full bands you will want to have it graded to get the official “Full Bands” designation. This requires a collector to send their coin in to get it certified if they want to claim this designation which makes it more valuable.
Bestseller No. 1 1944 P Walking Liberty Half Dollar 50c Very Fine- 1944 P Walking Liberty Half Dollar Very Fine
- Stock Photo, Image is representative of quality you will receive
Bestseller No. 2 Old U.S. Silver Coins 5 Coin Collection Set - Indian Head Cent, Buffalo Nickel, Mercury Dime, Standing Liberty Quarter, Walking Liberty Half Dollar - A 5-coin set of classic old U.S. coins, including some of the most iconic designs of American coinage
- Includes an Indian Head cent, Buffalo nickel, Mercury dime, Standing Liberty quarter, and Walking Liberty half dollar
- 1944-P Silver Mercury Dime
- Brilliant Uncirculated (BU)
Valuing the 1944 Liberty Dime
Despite their age, liberty dimes overall are still quite common, and 1944 is no exception to this. Still, a coin in the right condition can be worth a fair amount of money. Moreover, the mintage location can raise the value as well as the condition of the coin.
As with all coins composed largely of precious metals, the 1944 Liberty dime is worth more than face value simply in terms of its silver content. With the current price of silver at $17.20 per ounce, the melt value for this coin is around $1.20.
The 1944 Liberty dime’s numismatic value (its value to collectors) is higher than the melt value, even for lower grades. This is good news as people are readily buying it not only for its silver but its collectability.
Values rise only when the coin is in MS-55 condition, with examples retailing for $5. If you have a grade MS-65 liberty dime can still be had for around $27. The prices for this 1944 dime haven’t changed much over the years.
1944 Liberty Dimes that have the “Full Bands” grading designation are far more valuable coins.vMS-65 coins with Full Bands are valued at $80, which is more than double the value of the $27 for a non-designation example. No 1944 liberty dimes have been graded lower than MS-60 while receiving a “Full Bands” designation, based on third party grader NCG’s database.
Now you know more about the 1944 Liberty Dimes. If you are still learning about coin collecting and want to know more about collecting dimes then, check out our Ultimate Guide to Collectible Dimes.
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| Type: | United States 'Mercury Dime' Silver 10 Cents | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: | 1916 - 1945 | Cat. Num.: | KM# 140 |
| Country: | United States | Period: | Republic |
| Currency: | United States Dollar | Face value: | 10 Cents |
| System: | Decimal | 3 Cents = Trime 5 Cents = Nickel 10 Cents = Dime 25 Cents = Quarter 50 Cents = Half Dollar 100 Cents = 1 Dollar Gold 2.50 Dollars = Quarter Eagle 4 Dollars = Stella 5 Dollars = Half Eagle 10 Dollars = Eagle 20 Dollars = Double Eagle | |
| Desgr/Engr: | Adolph A. Weinman | ||
| Obverse: | Winged-capped Liberty | ||
| Legend: | LIBERTY IN GOD WE TRUST | ||
| Reverse: | Fasces | ||
| Legend: | UNITED·STATES·OF·AMERICA E·PLURIBUS UNUM ONE DIME | ||
| Edge: | Reeded | ||
| Purpose: | Circulation | ||
| Year: | |
|---|---|
| Mint: | Philadelphia |
| Mintage: | 231,410,000 |
| Scarcity: | |
| Valuation: | |
| Notes: | |
| Grades & Prices Available | |
| (VF-) | $4.25 |
| (VF+) | $7.99 |
| (EF) | Sold |
| (AU) | Sold |
| (UNC) | Sold |
| Composition: | Silver |
|---|---|
| Fineness: | 0.9000 |
| Weight (g): | 2.5000g |
| Weight (Oz): | 0.08 Oz |
| Net Content: | 0.07 Oz (2.25g) |
| Bullion Value: | $1.98 |
| Alignment: | |
| Diameter: | 17.90mm |
| Thickness: |
Although most commonly referred to as the 'Mercury' dime, the coin does not depict the Roman messenger god. The obverse figure is a depiction of the mythological goddess Liberty wearing a Phrygian cap, a classic symbol of liberty and freedom, with its wings intended to symbolize freedom of thought. Designed by noted sculptor Adolph A. Weinman, the Winged Liberty Head dime is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful U.S. coin designs ever produced. The composition (90 percent silver, 10 percent copper) and diameter (17.9 millimeters) of the 'Mercury' dime was unchanged from the Barber dime.
Weinman (who had studied under Augustus Saint-Gaudens) won a 1915 competition against two other artists for the design job, and is thought to have modeled his version of Liberty on Elsie Kachel Stevens, wife of noted poet Wallace Stevens. The reverse design, a fasces juxtaposed with an olive branch, was intended to symbolize America's readiness for war, combined with its desire for peace. The fasces symbol was later officially adopted by Benito Mussolini and his National Fascist Party, though this was the fourth party with a name invoking the fasces (in Italian: fascio) to which Mussolini had belonged. The symbol was also common in American iconography and has generally avoided any stigma associated with its usage in wartime Italy.
The 1916-D issue of only 264,000 coins is highly sought after, due largely to the fact that the overwhelming majority of the dimes struck at the Denver Mint in 1916 carried the pre-existing Barber design. Thus, the 1916-D is worth up to thousands of dollars if it is in relatively fine condition. A considerable number of common 1916 Philadelphia mint dimes have been altered with a 'D' added, so buyers should be careful to purchase only from reputable dealers or to accept only sealed and graded coins.
1944 Dime Error
Many coins in the 'Mercury' series exhibit striking defects, most notably the fact that the line separating the two horizontal bands in the center of the fasces is often missing, in whole or in part; the 1945 issue of the Philadelphia Mint hardly ever appears with this line complete from left to right, and as a result, such coins are worth more than usual for uncirculated specimens. A valuable variety is an overdate, where 1942 was stamped over a 1941 die at the Philadelphia mint. A less obvious example from the same year is from the Denver mint.
Of particular interest to numismatics is the condition of the horizontal bands tying together the bundle on the fasces, on the coin's reverse. On well-struck examples, separation exists within the two sets of bands (known as Full Split Bands). Coins exhibiting this feature are typically valued higher than those without it.
1944 Dime Coin Value
| Year | Mintage | G | F | VF | EF | AU | UNC | BU | PROOF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | 231,410,000 | $2.30 | $3.10 | $6.10 | $10.00 | $8.10 | $9.10 | $24.00 |
$4.75 | $4.75 |