By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
Besides the 1918-S Mercury Dime, the San Francisco Mint struck five coin denominations in 1918. Highest mintage to lowest, the branch mint’s output favored cents and dimes over quarters, halves, and nickels.
|
San Francisco Mint Coin Production in 1918 |
|||
| 1918-S Lincoln Cent | 34,680,000 | ||
| 1918-S Buffalo Nickel | 4,882,000 | ||
| 1918-S Mercury Dime | 19,300,000 | ||
| 1918-S Standing Liberty Quarter | 11,072,000 | ||
| 1918-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar | 10,282,000 | ||
United States Mint records reveal that San Francisco deployed 73 obverse dies and 66 reverse dies to strike 19,300,000 1918-S Mercury Dimes. In a testament to the skill of the coiners, such a high mintage meant that the typical die produced over 277,000 impressions. But this achievement also called for compromise, and the typical strike of the 1918-S dime is somewhat soft, making Full Band dimes, especially in Gem grades, rather difficult to locate.
* * *
1918-S Mercury Dime Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens
Coin dealer Joel D. Coen of New York offered to sell choice BU examples of the 1918-S Mercury Dime for $150 in his advertisement published in the April 1976 issue of The Numismatist.
Top Population: PCGS MS67+FB (1, 3/2025), NGC MS66FB (5, 3/2025), and CAC MS67FB (3:0 stickered:graded, 3/2025).
- NGC MS68FB: Heritage Auctions, January 1996, Lot 5360 – $22,000; Heritage Auctions, August 8, 2001, Lot 5773 – $35,075. Scattered crimson toning on the obverse and reverse. No longer in NGC census.
- PCGS MS67FB CAC #31814085: As PCGS MS67FB #07962490. Heritage Auctions, February 21, 2002, Lot 5559 – $44,850; Bowers and Merena, November 2006, Lot 868; Heritage Auctions, April 2009, Lot 2278 – $63,250. Brilliant. As PCGS MS67FB CAC #31814085. “The Charles McNutt Collection,” Heritage Auctions, January 10, 2019, Lot 4408 – $144,000. Coin has toned. Faint golden brown toning around the upper periphery of the obverse. Reverse is awash in golden brown toning.
- PCGS MS67FB CAC #21465064: “The William Dominick Collection,” Heritage Auctions, April 2001, Lot 6216; “The Joshua II Collection of Mercury Dimes, #1 All-Time Finest PCGS Registry Set,” Heritage Auctions, August 12, 2010, Lot 4496 – $97,750.
- PCGS MS66FB #35240586: Del Loy Hansen; DLRC, August 22, 2024, Lot 781391 – $21,075.
* * *
Coin Specifications
| Country: | United States of America |
| Year of Issue: | 1918 |
| Denomination: | Dime (10 Cents USD) |
| Mintmark: | S (San Francisco) |
| Mintage: | 19,300,000 |
| Alloy: | .900 silver, .100 copper |
| Weight: | 2.5 g |
| Diameter: | 17.9 mm |
| Edge: | Reeded |
| OBV Designer: | Adolph A. Weinman |
| REV Designer: | Adolph A. Weinman |
| Quality: | Business Strike |
* * *