US Coins

Details released on 2016-W gold Mercury dime

By Paul Gilkes

Published: Apr 7, 2016, 8 AM

The W Mint mark for the Uncirculated 2016-W Winged Liberty Head Centennial gold dime is located on the reverse, to the left of the base of the olive branch.

Original images courtesy of U.S. Mint.

The Uncirculated 2016-W Winged Liberty Head dime is a .9999 fine gold version of the .900 fine silver dime initially introduced in 1916.

Images courtesy of U.S. Mint.

Each coin will be encapsulated and placed in a custom-designed black matte wood presentation case and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

Image courtesy of U.S. Mint.

Box closed in which the Uncirculated 2016-W Winged Liberty Head dimes are being packaged.

Image courtesy of U.S. Mint.

The product limit is set at 125,000 coins for the Uncirculated 2016-W Winged Liberty Head Centennial gold dime, which goes on sale at noon Eastern Time April 21 from the U.S. Mint.

The 2016 gold dime has an initial household order limit of 10. Mint officials say they will continue to monitor sales and adjust the household order limit as appropriate.

Pricing for each of the three planned Centennial gold coins will follow the U.S. Mint pricing schedule for gold coins. Each will be priced according to the range where it appears on the U.S. Mint Gold Coin Pricing Grid, based on the market price of gold and other factors. The initial purchase price will be revealed closer to the product release date.

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The coin is a 24-karat gold version of sculptor Adolph A. Weinman's Winged Liberty Head dime, which was struck in .900 fine silver when introduced into circulation in 1916.

The much-anticipated dime is the first of three Centennial anniversary coins in gold to replicate .900 fine silver versions originally introduced in 1916. The other two, also dated 2016 and also composed of .9999 fine gold, replicate the Standing Liberty quarter dollar designed by sculptor Hermon A. MacNeil and the Walking Liberty half dollar, also designed by Weinman.

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The U.S. Mint exhibited an example of the dime in a display case at the bureau's booth at the Whitman Baltimore Expo March 31 to April 3.

The dime's diameter is 16.5 millimeters, or 0.65-inch. The thickness is 1.19 millimeters or 0.047-inch. The coin has a reeded edge and a circulation-strike finish.

The dime is a tenth-ounce coin, the quarter dollar a quarter-ounce coin, and the half dollar a half-ounce coin.

All three Centennial gold coins are being struck at the West Point Mint with the W Mint mark.

Each of the dimes was struck twice with average striking pressure of 40 tons per strike on a Graebener GMP 360 press with the dies oriented vertically.

The obverse is the hammer die and the reverse the anvil die. The average die life was 1,900 coins per die.

The production of the 125,000 maximum mintage of gold dimes at the West Point Mint was started on Feb. 23 and ended on March 21.

Leach Garner from Attleboro, Mass., supplied the U.S. Mint with the finished planchets for the Winged Liberty Head gold dimes and will also provide the finished planchets for the gold Standing Liberty Centennial quarter dollar and Walking Liberty Centennial half dollar.

Leach Garner is one of three vendors that supplies the U.S. Mint with planchets for American Eagle and American Buffalo gold coins.

Some collectors may be confused that the gold dime may appear to have two W Mint marks — one on the coin's obverse and another on the reverse. The two marks serve separate purposes, however: On the obverse, in the field to the right behind Liberty's neck, the overlapped initials AW identify the designer and sculptor, Adolph A. Weinman. On the reverse, to the lower left of the base of the olive branch, is the W Mint mark signifying production at the West Point Mint in New York.

In the field to the right of the fasces, below E PLURIBUS / UNUM in two lines, are two inscriptions not present on the original dimes — AU 24K and 1/10 OZ. — also in two lines.

Each coin will be encapsulated and placed in a custom designed, black matte, wood presentation case, and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

In-stock items will be available for immediate shipment. Customers are asked to allow approximately one to two weeks for shipping of in-stock products.

Coins will be sold via the United States Mint website, www.catalog.usmint.gov, and and its toll-free number 800-872-6468.

U.S. Mint officials previously disclosed sales projections for the three coins, each of which will bear its design's original face value from 1916.

Details on mintages, specifications and release dates for the Standing Liberty Centennial gold quarter dollar and Walking Liberty Centennial gold half dollar have not yet been disclosed by U.S. Mint officials.