Morgan Silver Dollars and Mercury Dimes and How to Get Them
My favorite United States types of coins are the Morgan Silver dollar and the Mercury dimes. Both coins are made out of silver and both have superb and elegant designs on both sides of the coin. Some of these dollars and dimes are worth a lot of money because so few are in mint condition or too few have survived from the melting down of a lot of these coins.
The Morgan Silver dollar was minted between the dates of 1878 to 1921 though there was a lull with mintage from 1906 to 1921 because none were minted because of the lack of silver. The Morgan Silver dollar consisted of 90% silver and 10% copper. There are some dates and mint marks of the Morgans which drive up the price into the thousands of dollars. On one side of the Morgan silver dollar is the profile of Lady Liberty looking to her left and on the other side is an eagle that is holding arrows in her talons. There are several mints that made the Morgan Silver dollar and these are CC which stands for Carson City, O which is New Orleans, and S for San Francisco.
The Mercury Dimes were minted from 1916 to 1945 when it was replaced by the Roosevelt dime. These dimes are also made up of 90% silver and 10% of copper. These dimes look and feel different from other dimes and finding coins in uncirculated condition is pretty hard but they do exist and they are worth some money. As an example the 1916 D dime in a bad condition is about $300.00 in value. In very fine condition you are looking at thousands of dollars worth. On the one side of the Mercury dime is Lady Liberty wearing a winged helmet which people thought she was the god Mercury and on the other side is a Roman faces with several bands with tree branches surrounding the faces. Some of the key dates are 1916, 1921, and 1942/41 which means some of the 1942s were stamped on 1941 coins left in the mint.
There are several ways of purchasing these coins. These include coin shows, the internet, and flea markets. All kinds of coin shows will have the Morgan silver dollars and Mercury dimes. The internet is full of links and internet stores and auctions where you can purchase these silver coins. Even at local flea markets you can pick up some good choice silver Morgans and Mercury dimes. You can also join Coin Clubs and purchase some of the coins you need as well. There are also coin magazines that advertise several ways to get different coins.
My favorite US coins are the Morgan Silver dollar and the Mercury Silver dime. There are several reasons for this and they include the beauty of the coins and the make and feel of them. Another reason is they are both 90% pure silver and the price of silver is going up so these are a valuable investments. These coins also have a part of US history in them and they are definitely worth the money spent on them.
