1945 Mercury Dime

1945 was the last year of the Mercury dime series and is notable not just for that fact but also because that was the year that a fairly popular mintmark variety was created in the 1945-S micro-S dime. Though not a rarity, the 1945-S micro-S dime is a curiosity for series enthusiasts and adds a little extra challenge for coin collectors who want a little variety – no pun intended – in their Mercury dime collections. The micro-S mintmark is a variation of the regular “S” mintmark and is fairly well represented in terms of number, as it remains relatively common today. However, no exact mintage or population figures can be ascertained for the 1945-S Micro-S variety.

What follows are mintage figures for the 1945 Mercury dime:

• 1945, 159,130,000 minted; $4

• 1945-D, 40,245,000; $4

• 1945-S, 41,920,000; $4

• 1945-S micro-S, mintage unknown; $8

*Values are for coins in a grade of Extremely Fine-40.

Mint state examples of the 1945 dime can be had for under $10, except for the micro-S variety, which will set coin collectors back about $30 to $40 for an example in the MS-60 to MS-63 range. Gem specimens of the three regular-issue 1945 Mercury dimes are available for under $30 each, with the micro-S selling for closer to $100 in that same grade.

The United States Mint would cease production of the Mercury dime in 1945, the year that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died. In honor of the fallen president, the highly familiar Roosevelt dime debuted the following year.