Description
The 1916 Mercury Dime Gold Coin and Silver Medal Set is the first of the Best of the Mint semiquincentennial series.
The 1916 Mercury Dime Gold Coin’s obverse (heads) depicts Liberty in profile facing left, wearing a winged cap symbolizing freedom of thought. Inscriptions are “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and “1916.” To commemorate the semiquincentennial of our Nation’s founding, the coin features a unique Liberty Bell privy mark with the numeral “250.”
The coin’s reverse (tails) depicts a fasces (a bundle of rods) to symbolize strength through unity. The battle ax and the olive branch represent America’s military readiness and the desire for peace. Inscriptions are “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” and “ONE DIME.”
The Best of the Mint Silver Companion Medal to the 1916 Mercury Dime, also known as the Winged Liberty dime, features a design that continues from obverse to reverse that recalls the period of 1916 through 1945, when the Mercury dime was in circulation, representing years of great change and upheaval, both foreign and domestic, for the United States. Observing that during this period the United States would enter two world wars, Liberty is depicted in both defensive and offensive positions.
The obverse (heads) design extends to the reverse (tails) with rays emitting from the tip of the sword, symbolic of hope at the end of conflict. The Great Depression is represented by the Hooverville shacks, and the swirling waves in the background represent the Dust Bowl. The inscription is “1916 – 1945.”
(Stock Photos)
