Winged Liberty Head dimes, more commonly called "Mercury" dimes, were minted from 1916 to 1945 and present collecting opportunities for all budgets.

This series has been traditionally popular to collect in circulated grades, and a well-matched circulated set is an accessible challenge. Collectors on a budget putting together low-grade sets have reported that many of the earlier Mint-marked issues are tougher to find than price guides would suggest.

Dealers have little incentive to pull out these earlier issues from their common silver dimes that simply sell for a multiplier of the face value in accordance with the bullion content. As a result, collectors often have to dig though bulk silver to find these tougher, inexpensive issues. Generally dealers do not distinguish between Roosevelt and Winged Liberty Head dimes when trading in "dime silver" unless working with large quantities.

Collectors are always on the hunt for problem-free keys, and dealers continue to report that issues like the 1921 and 1921-D dimes in Very Good 8 though About Uncirculated 50 elicit interest at the established price levels.

The key to the series, the 1916-D dime, most widely available in About Good 3 to VG-8, has cooled off a bit from its run-up in price over the past five years, taking some pressure off of budget-minded collectors. Mint State 61 and MS-62 examples of the 1916-D dime also show some softness, perhaps justifiable as many of these are unattractive and lack originality.

Recent auction results have shown many certified Mint State dimes of various dates trading at, or even below, established wholesale levels. This trend has been fairly dramatic at several recent major auctions, with coins in the $900 to $2,500 range showing specific weakness.

The 15 Winged Liberty Head dimes produced from 1941 and 1945 constitute a "short set" that is accessible to collectors and beautiful when completed. A well-matched, high-quality, brilliant set can be put together for less than $500 and provides a pleasant challenge for a new collector. These issues have seen reduced wholesale price levels over the past several months.