At the upcoming Heritage Platinum Night sale taking place July 31st in Los Angeles, two exceptional Mercury Dimes are being offered.

1916-D 10C MS67 Full Bands NGC.  Lot 1074 The 1916-D, as the most famous key date in the Mercury dime series, is popularly called a rarity. In most grades, whether or not it deserves to be called “rare” depends on one’s perspective; the early series collector, for example, who delves into the minutiae that differentiate the die pair with only five known from the one with thousands of survivors, might scoff at the idea of the 1916-D dime, a 20th century issue with a mintage of slightly over a quarter-million pieces, being considered rare.

At the MS67 Full Bands level, however, its condition rarity must be respected. This coin is one of just two MS67 Full Bands representatives certified by NGC, tied with six others graded by PCGS for the finest known (6/09).

Key-date coins so fine rarely change hands, and the appearance of this remarkable, sharply struck Superb Gem at auction is an event. Heritage has offered an MS67 Full Bands example only once before, in its April 2001 Central States auction, which saw the PCGS-certified William Dominick specimen hammered down for a six-figure sum. In the eight years since, demand for Mercury dimes, particularly the key dates in top grades, has only grown.

This is the first 1916-D dime sold in the top grade of MS-67FB, PCGS or NGC in at least 8 years. The last time such a top graded 1916-D 10c was auction was from the Dominick collection in April 2001

1945 10C MS67 Full Bands NGC.  Lot 1078 The 1945 Full Bands dime is the most famous “strike rarity” in American numismatics. Mint State 1945 dimes are sufficiently common that they are sometimes available by the roll. But invariably, the majority of pieces are weakly defined on the all-important central bands. This issue has an original mintage exceeding 159 million pieces, but Full Bands examples account for a tiny percentage of all Mint State survivors.

Specifically, NGC and PCGS combined have certified fewer than 125 1945 dimes with Full Bands, primarily in the near-Gem to Gem levels of preservation (6/09). Needless to say, high-grade, sharply struck, pristine 1945 examples are among the more highly prized coins in this 20th century series.

The present 1945 Full Bands offering in the lofty grade of MS67 may well be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Mercury dime aficionado. It is the finest Full Bands specimen graded by NGC, and one of the four finest seen by both services.

The last 1945-P MS-67FB to be auctioned was in April 2001

Related posts:

1. Heritage to offer both Original and Restrike 1827/3 Quarters on Platinum Night
2. The Joshua II Collection of Mercury Dimes is the #1 All-Time Finest PCGS Registry Set and is being sold in Boston
3. $19mm+ Platinum Night! Heritage ANA Auction Approaches $29 Million
4. The Pre-ANA Show and the Heritage Los Angeles Platinum Night Sale
5. The Olsen 1913 Liberty Head Nickel to be Auctioned by Heritage on Platinum Night at FUN in January
6. Rare Gold Highlights Platinum Night at Central States Auction
7. Ninth Known Specimen of the Rare 1817/4 Half Dollar in Heritage Platinum Night Sale
8. Queller’s 1804 Dollar Leads Heritage’s CSNS Platinum Night Auction
9. Platinum Night Drives Heritage’s $62 Million FUN Auction
10. Over $22 Million in Coins Changes Hands in Boston Platinum Night Auction