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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Lehigh96, post: 963386, member: 15309&quot;]I was reading through David Lange&#039;s, <i>ASSEMBLING THE IDEAL 20TH-CENTURY TYPE SET</i> tonight and was astonished to find that he recommends the 1920-P as the optimum year/mm for the Mercury Dime type coin.&nbsp; While I understand his desire for a well struck example from the modified 1918 obverse hub &amp; 1917 reverse hub, I couldn&#039;t help but think how many gorgeous 1939-D Mercury Dimes there are in existence.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have done some more research and narrowed down the field to 4 date/mm that would be optimum choices for a Mercury Dime Type Coin.&nbsp; Your job is to vote for which date/mm you think should get the job.&nbsp; The four contestants are:</p><p><br /></p><p><font size="4"><span style="color: blue">1916 Mercury Dime MS68 FB</span></font></p><p><br /></p><p>The 1916 is the first year of issue and these coins were widely hoarded by the general public.&nbsp; The coins were very well struck and the appearance of full bands is common.&nbsp; In addition, the 1916 dimes all had slightly textured fields which give them a unique satin appearance.&nbsp; The draw back to this date is that the wing lacks the detail of the revised 1917 &amp; 1918 hubs.&nbsp; The population of the 1916-P MS68FB is 22/0 with a Numismedia Wholesale value of $2,950</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Mercury%20Dimes/MercuryDime1916MS68FB.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="4"><span style="color: blue">1920 Mercury Dime MS68 FB</span></font></p><p><br /></p><p>The date/mm recommended by David Lange for having the best strike based on the recent hub modifications of 1918 (Obverse) and 1917 (Reverse).&nbsp; A large mintage of 59 million accounts for the many surviving examples in premium gem full band status.&nbsp; The coin has a population of 2/0 in MS68FB and a Numismedia Wholesale price tag of $5,175.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Mercury%20Dimes/MercuryDime1920MS68FB.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="4"><span style="color: blue">1939-D Mercury Dime MS69 FB</span></font></p><p><br /></p><p>The 1939-D is among the most common Mercury Dimes in the uncirculated grades.&nbsp; In fact, one could say that this issue is even common in MS69.&nbsp; Of the most spectacularly toned Mercury Dimes I have ever seen offered in auction, at least half have been MS69 1939-D&#039;s.&nbsp; For whatever reason, this date/mm cornered the market not only on surface preservation but eye appeal as well.&nbsp; The total population in MS69 FB is 17/0 and has a Numismedia Wholesale value of $7,350.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Mercury%20Dimes/MercuryDime1939-DMS691-1.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><font size="4"><span style="color: blue">1944-D Mercury Dime MS68 FB</span></font></p><p><br /></p><p>Lange&#039;s comment in his <i>COMPLETE GUIDE TO MERCURY DIMES</i> is that the 1944-D is among the most available issues in the entire series, as the population reports indicate.&nbsp; Anyone who has ever collected Mercury Dimes knows this to be true.&nbsp; These coins can be found toned or blast white and most all have incredible luster.&nbsp; The population in MS68FB is a whopping 100/0 resulting in a very affordable Numismedia Wholesale price of $750.&nbsp; For overall value, this date/mm is tough to beat.&nbsp; The drawback is that it does not have any of the superlatives of the previous choices related to the elements of grading.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o59/ACPitBoss/Mercury%20Dimes/MercuryDime1944-DMS68FB.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Please vote for your choice as the Optimum Mercury Dime Type Coin date/mm.&nbsp; All photos in this thread are courtesy of Heritage Auctions.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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