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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;yakpoo, post: 4634517, member: 18157&quot;]When I was young, I fell in love with mercury dimes. In the early &#039;60s, maybe 5% of dimes in circulation were mercury dimes.</p><p><br /></p><p>The barbershop in our town had a Coke machine like this one, and my Mom would give me a mercury dime for a Coke so I wouldn&#039;t fuss in the barber chair. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/amarillo-texas-usa-february-close-up-antique-coca-cola-brand-vending-machine-s-era-vertical-orientation-antique-175535502.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Fast forward ten years and I had a paper route...and a complete &quot;Blast White&quot; uncirculated Mercury Dime collection...except for the 1916D. I had a G-4 example, but it stood out like a sore thumb.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, in 1972, I asked the owner of our local coin shop to locate the best 1916-D Mercury Dime he could find. He found a nice one (MS64FBL by today&#039;s standards), but said it would cost $600!</p><p><br /></p><p>I didn&#039;t have anything close to $600 (that&#039;s like $6000 today)...however, I would get about $10 per customer for a Christmas tip. I spent the entire year cutting lawns and signing up new paper customers hoping to save $600 by Christmas.</p><p><br /></p><p>By Christmas, I achieved my goal...$600 saved! I proudly marched down to the coin store to claim my prize...only to be told that he had a customer that wanted it for $800, but that I had first right of refusal...at $800.</p><p><br /></p><p>I was crestfallen, I busted my butt for an entire year, thought I had a deal, but instead, learned a hard lesson about business. I didn&#039;t have $800, but told the owner that I would be back. I exhausted all my options, so I finally went to my Dad to see if he would lend me the money...girding myself for an unpleasant lecture.</p><p><br /></p><p>Much to my surprise, he agreed! ...but I had to let him hold it until I repaid the loan. I repaid the load quickly, but when I wanted to put the coin in my Whitman folder, my Dad advised against it...so I let him hang onto it. He had it wrapped in aluminum foil...like all his other coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>About 6 years later, my ex-Brother-in-Law stole my coin collection and sold it. All my other mercury dimes were gone...except for the 1916-D my Dad was still holding for me (Phew!). I&#039;ve since rebuilt a nice Uncirculated Mercury Dime collection around my 1916-D, but it was much more expensive the second time around.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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