1920-D Mercury Dime. Image: DLRC / CoinWeek.
By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
Denver in 1920
The city of Denver, Colorado was still dealing with the “Spanish” flu pandemic in 1920, though the worst was behind it. Denver’s first reported death had occurred two years earlier on September 27, 1918, after a university student contracted the illness during a visit to Chicago.
The next 18 months were eerily similar to our contemporary experiences with COVID-19. The City Government placed restrictions on individuals and private businesses, initiating mask mandates, closing schools and businesses, banning indoor public gatherings, and quarantining the sick. The public quickly grew frustrated by these measures, and business owners felt that the closures violated their civil liberties. People began to scapegoat the city’s immigrant communities, whose customs differed from the protestant majority and whose economic status made them more susceptible to the highly contagious illness.
Another major event happened in 1920 mere blocks from the Denver Mint. A deadly riot broke out in August after strikebreakers attempted to break up a strike by tramway workers for higher wages. Seven people died after rioters set fire to buildings and trams. The mayor of Denver tried to quell the riot with a citizen’s militia, but ultimately hundreds of troops had to be called in to restore order.
Within a few years, the city’s anti-labor and anti-immigrant politics would be dominated by the Ku Klux Klan.
Coining Operations at the Denver Mint
The impact of the Spanish flu outbreak undoubtedly interfered with the Mint’s coinage operations, as did the yellow fever outbreaks of the late 18th and 19th centuries. Nevertheless, no mention of the flu is in the Mint Director Reports covering 1919 and 1920. While we expect that some of the decline in mintages at the Denver facility were caused by health concerns, global economics played a bigger role. As a result, Denver coin production fell dramatically in 1919, only to surge in 1920.
Chinese silver demand sent metal prices soaring. On February 11, silver reached its peak at $1.38 per ounce. This run put the precious metal’s intrinsic value above the face value of all U.S. silver coinage. In Europe, silver disappeared from circulation. In the United States, the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board closely monitored the situation, releasing silver dollars for export. By May, some 29 million had been shipped to Asia. There was some talk in Congress about reducing the silver content of U.S. coins but this went nowhere. The silver fever broke in March, and spot prices fell below $1 in May. When this happened, the Treasury began to repurchase silver under the terms of the Pittman Act of 1918. Within the first month of repurchase, the Federal Government had secured over four million ounces. In 1921, the United States Mint would resume production of the silver dollar, striking over 85 million Morgan Dollars and one million dollars bearing Anthony de Francisci’s Peace Dollar.
The Denver and San Francisco mints were undergoing renovations starting in 1920. Pleased with the success of the Philadelphia Mint’s 1919 upgrades to its melting furnaces and conveyor system (among other efficiencies), Mint leadership sought to replicate this at the branch mints and the New York Assay Office. Specific to the Denver Mint, major improvements were made to the sweeps cellar.
Denver Mint Coin Production in 1920
1920-D Lincoln Cent
49,280,000
1920-D Buffalo Nickel
9,418,000
1920-D Mercury Dime
19,171,000
1920-D Standing Liberty Quarter
3,586,400
1920-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar
1,551,000
The Philadelphia Mint melted 10 million silver dollars between December 5, 1919, and March 22, 1920, under the terms of the Pittman Act, putting the total number of dollars melted at 270,121,554. The melted 10 million were purchased by the Mint at face value and converted into subsidiary coinage.
111,168 silver dollars were allocated to Denver to be melted and turned into subsidiary silver coinage. This was a tiny fraction of the needed silver, as the branch converted nearly 2.6 million ounces into 24,308,400 silver coins – 19,171,000 of these being dimes.
The 1920-D Mercury Dime: Notable Characteristics
The 1920-D Mercury Dime is a common date that is plentiful in Mint State and not too difficult to acquire Mint State with Full Bell Lines (FBL). It’s only in the Super Gem grades that the coin is conditionally scarce.
The quality of the 1920-D Mercury Dime is lacking as this date was not well made. The “0” of the date is often weakly struck, and on some impressions, the “0” blends in the rim. Even on high-grade examples, obverse die cracks are typically noted.
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Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens
The PCGS MS68FB population of one has been stable since 2013.
Top Population: PCGS MS68FB (1, 8/2024). NGC MS67+FB (1, 8/2024), and CAC MS67FB (7:0 stickered:graded, 8/2024).
PCGS MS68FB #26402206: Imaged on PCGS CoinFacts.
NGC MS67+FB #4877784-002: Heritage Auctions, April 25, 2019, Lot 3703 – $19,200; Heritage Auctions, October 17, 2019, Lot 3063 – $15,600. Russet, green, blue, and gold toning along the periphery of the obverse and reverse. Diagonal cut to the left of Liberty’s eyebrow. Rim hit to the right of the bottom of Liberty’s hair. Perfect dies. Top pop, pop 1 at NGC when offered.
PCGS MS67+FB CAC #37912935: As PCGS MS67FB #50242218. Heritage Auctions, September 22, 2005, Lot 2504 – $27,600. Top pop, pop 4 when offered. As “The Forsythe II Collection,” Stack’s Bowers, August 14, 2013, Lot 4072 – $42,500 Reserve Not Met; As PCGS MS67+FB CAC #27236855. Heritage Auctions, December 5, 2013, Lot 3578 – $38,187.50; Heritage Auctions, July 10, 2014, Lot 3687 – $44,062.50. Forsythe II on insert. As PCGS MS67+FB CAC #37912935. PCGS User “MADHATTER”. Recertified. Rust rim toning on obverse, same color target toning on reverse. Die crack from cap to rim to the left of T.
PCGS MS67+FB CAC #06622959: As PCGS MS67FB #06425362. “The Joshua II Collection of Mercury Dimes, #1 All-Time PCGS Finest PCGS Registry Set,” Heritage Auctions, August 12, 2010, Lot 4501 – $43,125. As PCGS MS67+FB CAC #06622959. Heritage Auctions, January 4, 2012, Lot 3157 – $43,125. Upgraded by 1/2 point. Obverse is mostly covered with dark rust-colored toning. Same color around periphery of the reverse.
PCGS MS67FB CAC #31814090: As PCGS MS67FB CAC #06698487. Heritage Auctions, July 31, 2009, Lot 1075 – $29,900. Brilliant. As PCGS MS67FB CAC #31814090. “The Charles McNutt Collection,” Heritage Auctions, January 10, 2019, Lot 4411 – $50,400. Regraded. Now Golden toning throughout. Die crack from cap to rim to the left of T and another from rim at 6 o’clock through truncation. Tick on Liberty’s hair that touches her cheek. Tick on the axe blade.
PCGS MS67FB CAC #02004778: Heritage Auctions, August 16, 2018, Lot 5092 – $38,400. Heather toning in centers, isolated dark orange spots. Russet toning highlights on wing tips. Orange and aquamarine toning along periphery on the reverse.
NGC MS67FB #3603573-002: Heritage Auctions, January 9, 2014, Lot 4053 – $15,275. Top pop, pop 4 when offered. Light lavender toning.
PCGS MS67FB CAC #06698487: Heritage Auctions, July 31, 2009, Lot 1075 – $29,900. Brilliant.
NGC MS67FB #3209812-001: Heritage Auctions, December 5, 2008, Lot 1170 – $11,500; “The Joseph C. Thomas Collection,” Heritage Auctions, April 29, 2009, Lot 283 – $8,625. Brilliant.
NGC MS67FB #1938259-001: Heritage Auctions, January 5, 2006, Lot 3140 – $10,062.50. Brilliant. Die crack through the center of the bust truncation. Another crack from cap to rim to the left of T.
NGC MS67FB #1661930-005: Heritage Auctions May 6, 2004, Lot 6727 – $7,475. Faint gold and brown toning along the lower obverse and reverse periphery. Cluster of dark toning spots under L. Top pop, pop 3 when offered. Die crack through the center of the bust truncation. Another crack from cap to rim to the left of T. Curved die crack from rim atop B to tip of cap.
PCGS MS67FB #50059426: Heritage Auctions, September 18, 2003, Lot 6500 – $13,800. Die crack from cap to rim to the left of T. Lightly toned on both sides. Dark spot on top of D of UNITED.
CACG MS66+FB #877443821: Del Loy Hansen; DLRC, August 29, 2024, Lot 781400 – View. Hint of champagne and rust color.
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Coin Specifications
Country:
United States of America
Year of Issue:
1920
Denomination:
10 Cents (USD)
Mintmark:
D (Denver)
Mintage:
19,171,000
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
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