Best of the Mint 1916 Mercury Dime Gold Coin and Silver Medal Set

• Celebrate the first release of the Best of the Mint series with the 1916 Mercury Dime Gold Coin and Silver Companion Medal
• Struck at the United States Mint facilities in West Point (gold) and Philadelphia (silver)
• Quantities are limited—Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to collect this special edition 1916 Mercury Dime Gold Coin and Silver Medal Set

In honor of the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, the Mint curated a list of 21 historic coins spanning our Nation’s history, from its founding in 1792 into the 21st century. Following public input and expert recommendations, five Best of the Mint coins were selected. The Best of the Mint is a series of 24-karat reissued gold coins alongside silver medals featuring modern designs inspired by their companions. The selected coins include: the 1916 Mercury Dime, the 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter Dollar, the 1916 Walking Liberty Half Dollar, the 1804 Silver Dollar, and the 1907 Saint-Gaudens High Relief $20 Gold Coin.

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.”