1916-D 10C, FB MS(PCGS#4907)

November 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

3031

Grade

AU58FB

Price

16,800

Lot Description

From the key issue among circulation strike Mercury dimes comes this exceptionally desirable Choice AU coin. Both sides are lightly and attractively toned with wisps of pretty champagne-pink and silver-apricot iridescence drifting over softly frosted surfaces. Luster is nearly full, and the detail certainly is from the standpoint of strike quality. Minimally circulated, and also gently so, it is difficult for us to imagine a more desirable example of the famous 1916-D at the assigned grade level.<p>In 1916, Adolph A. Weinman's Winged Liberty dime design entered production. More than 22 million were coined at Philadelphia and 10 million at San Francisco and were released in late October. Numismatists sought out high grade examples of the new design and were satisfied. At the Denver Mint, dimes were not a priority denomination and so when production started, it was not in large numbers. On November 24, the Denver Mint received a rush order for 4 million quarters of the outgoing Barber type. The production of dimes was halted to divert resources to that effort, by which time only 264,000 dimes had come off the press. A legendary key date was born.<p>These few coins were mostly distributed in Montana and the Upper Midwest, where not many coin collectors saved the issue and certainly not in high grade. The true rarity of this issue was not revealed until interest in collecting the series by mintmark took off in the 1930s and the hunt was on. As most 1916-D dimes saw extensive circulation, finding even a mid-grade example is challenging. Today, most specimens grade no better than VG. Only 1% of the 10,000 estimated by PCGS to survive would qualify as Mint State, with examples in certified Choice AU nearly as rare. Fortunately, the issue was well struck and the bands on the reverse are often clearly defined, as here. For the advanced collector, the current offering is for a highly desirable coin, one that is destined to find a home in an important cabinet.