Expert: PAPAJACK - 8/3/2007

Question
Hi, I have a 1939 Mercury Dime and I wanted to know why I see some people selling them for more then $500 but then others for only $5?

Answer
Hello Alex,                              

Coins are valued on a scale from 1 to 70. And on how rare a coin is. In 1939 the dimes were made at three mints, Philadelphia no mint mark 67.7 million were made it sells from only $1 to $5 dollars in circulated grades, Denver with a D mint mark 24.3 million were made it sells only from $1 to $6 dollars in circulated grades and San Francisco with an S mint mark. The San Francisco is the least common with 10,540,000 made. It sells only to $10 dollars in circulated grades.

With no or little experience it is sometimes easier letting a collector look at a coin and most coin shops will help for free on one or two pieces.
 
In each series of coin type like a Winged Liberty Head dime there are reference points of wear to be seen on the high points that are known to show wear first. Most of these are covered in the RED BOOK. If you can borrow a copy it will help. The grading details it describes at the start of each coin series is taken from the American Numismatic Association Standard. And uses the 1 to 70 scale recognized by all professionals since the 1970's. Most circulated coins range from Good (grade-G4) to Almost Uncirculated (grade-AU50) on the scale.

I found no coin catalog listing for a 1939 Philadelphia mint or Denver mint coin even in top grades. I did find a 1939-S San Francisco coin that in Mint state grade 65 with a fully detailed reverse selling about that level. I am sure that if there are mint grades higher than 65 to be found it will go even higher in the price realized for the coin.

So for your answer;
What any seller will ask for a coin he has is his choice. I can only imagine if a 1939 dime sold for $500, it would be a dedicated collector of this type coin biding against someone else at auction to get up to the price of $500 for such a common coin. It would have to be a very high grade (66 to 70) on the scale to truly be worth it.

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Thank You and Good Luck

PapaJack