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Message:: [QUOTE="Nighthawk, post: 261901, member: 6658"]I picked this Mercury dime up from a dealer yesterday. I do not know the story behind this coin but someone REALLY had it in for this coin and if I had to guess, it was done as an act of revenge. Although the mintmark area has been thoroughly decimated, it still looks like the bottom of the “D” is visible (for comparison, I created an image with the mintmark area of a 1916 D that I downloaded from Coinpage.com). From a more practical standpoint, I also think it was a 1916 D because I doubt anyone would deal this much carnage to a coin worth less than $20. Does anyone think nick-a-date (or more appropriately nitric acid) would restore the mintmark? And before you comment about the dangers of using acid on coins, I have been a chemist for 20 years so I know all about lab safety. One last point is that I bought this coin at melt value (about 90 cents), so experimentation would not reduce the value of the coin any further.[/QUOTE]