Impress me with your knowledge of Mercury Dimes!

Yeah, I was trying to see if anyone else could get it. Congrats, the left hand coin is in fact a 1916. I have no idea how you discerned that from the folds in the cap, but nevertheless, you are right.

 

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Congrats, you are the other person who got it right.

 

Beginner's luck.

 

The coin on the left is indeed a 1916. The coin on the right is an example of a 1918 hub. All coins from 1918 to 1945 use the hub of 1918.

The key differences between the hub of 1916 and 1918 are as follows:

1) The overall relief of the 1916 is higher but that is impossible to discern from these photos
2) The rims are significantly wider on the 1916
3) The curls are higher relief, specifically the curl that points at the nose. On the 1916 that curl will typically be bold and defined whereas it will always be weak and partially blended on a 1918 hub coin.
4) The details of the wing were enhanced and more boldly engraved on the 1918 hub.
5) The 1916 has textured fields, but again, that is very hard to see in photos.

Given all the drama on this forum, I thought it would be nice to have a good numismatic thread for a change. Good job guys, you got it pretty quick!

 

Yes, a nice little coin lesson. Thank you.

 

Thank you for the lesson. I couldn't find many specifics on the dies used. Most sources just mentioned mushy details especially around center.

 

Thank you, good thread, I enjoyed it.

Maybe there is the same lack of detail in those folds ...? I was assuming that the first year or two, there might be a variation change, as it often happens. I was going to guess 1916 or 1917 on the left coin. The 1918 I looked at, did have a different amount of detail in the folds, at least as far as my eyes are concerned. I didn't want to focus on hair, because the high points do wear first. I have very few Mercs and know very little about them. This exercise was all visual, for me. Thanks again.

 

Good lesson Paul. Sorry I missed it. The curls under the cap at 6 0'clock on the 1918 hub are also better defined.

 

Couldn't agree more and I thank you very much for putting this thread together. Its a great post that I learned from.

 

Saved the images and jotted down the information, it could prove useful in the future.

I wonder how much more difficult the differences are to see when it comes to specimens in lower grades...

 

Ones on the left and the other is in the right??

 

Great info Paul. Thanks!!!

 

Thanks Paul now I know why my 16 looks textured.