Mystery 1926 Coin(UPDATED)

Given this information....

"I found a coin while I was searching for laundry quarters today.

It has a woman's head on one side and the other has some sort of axe-looking thing with a plant. I am fairly certain the date is 1926, although it isn't in the best of shape. It also says "liberty" above the woman's head.

Dime size and color. Hope this is enough info :)"

I am pretty sure I know what Stephen is talking about. It's the 1926 Winged Liberty Head or "Mercury" Dime from the U.S.. The condition sounds worn but readable probably a grade of good-4 maybe less.



The one thing I would ask is for the mint mark, the place where the coin was made, it is either blank, D (Denver) or S (San Francisco) . The mint mark affects the price severely.

The mint mark on "Mercury" dime is located on the reverse after the "E" in the word ONE and before the bottom of the branch. It's D for Denver, S for San Francisco or nothing/blank for Philadelphia.



Here's the stats for all the mint marks....
Year: 1926
Metal: Silver (.07234 oz. pure silver)
Mintage: 32,160,000
Value: G-4 $2.66 ( it was $2.00 6 years ago)

Year: 1926D
Metal: Silver (.07234 oz. pure silver)
Mintage: 6,828,000
Value: G-4 $3.00 ( it was $4.00 6 years ago and lost some value)

Year: 1926S
Metal: Silver (.07234 oz. pure silver)
Mintage: 1,520,000
Value: G-4 $13.00 (it was $10.00 6 years ago and gained some value)

The prices are high because silver prices around the world also are high. You found a good coin because after 1934 the values drop significantly. These dimes circulated from 1916-1945. A high grade 1926S dime can retail for about $3,000.

Thanks for your visit.

Update: July 14, 2007 as you read some coins lose value as time goes on this is because the coin market is highly unstable and can change dramatically.

Update #2: June 12, 2008
Update #3: August 2, 2009 
Update #4: September 26, 2010 
Update #5: June 9, 2011