Coin Values, and some thoughts - Please enlighten me!!

[NebTrac]

First off I'm sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this question, but I visit this forum more than any others.

I was just wondering about some values I've seen in the coin guide.

Why is it a 1916D Mercury Dime is worth around $1,000 in G-4 condition - Minitage of 264,000 and a say a 1913S Barber dime with a mintage of 510,000 is only worth $35 in G-4? I could understand, a little, if the "total mintage" of barber dimes would exceed the total of the 1916 Mercs, but they lack by quite a bit (over 20 million barber compared to 32+ million Mercs). Some things just seem askewed to me. Maybe someone could shed some light on that.

Another thing, I THINK I'm correct here as it seems would make since. We see the E-Trac (and other detectors) nailing silver dimes almost all the time. Quarters are regularly collected too, just not (seems to me) in the quantity that the dimes are. Were the older detectors being able to find them more easily due to their size or they were more easily seen on the ground shortly after they were lost, or a combination of the two? This is just what I've been noticing. The reason I have a few older quarters to my name is due to the fact I'm in pretty much "virgin" territory. I don't think another detector has been where I'm at.

But I have been to a seldom used picnic spot that others have hit and I pulled 5 Mercs. from this site along with wheats and a few indians. No silver quarters though (maybe they weren't there). Believe it or not I've never pulled a Washington or Roosevelt silver out.

By the way. We all know not to rub on the silver. It's still hard not too, especially when you filming. Its been my "infantile" experience that the Mercs. hold up way better to a thumbswipe then the barber. I don't know if the silver as different or the way the engraving and die set up was but a barber will seem to scratch if you sneeze on it. Of course the digger will scratch both very nicely!!!

Feel free to chime in.

Thanks

NebTrac

 

[utahshovelhead]

Hi Neb Trac,
I think you are correct in assuming that the 25cent would be picked up much more often on account of its size being seen easily on the ground. Dimes fall and they are so small that they hide out easily with the dark colored penny. Most of my larger coins I have found in an area where they would be very hard to spot if they fell out of the pocket. Take rings for example...in the cold wet snow you pull off your glove and with shrunken fingers your ring is pulled off by the glove and goes flying out into...? the snow. So I hunt for rings where people take gloves off in the snow. I also find larger coins there as people cannot find a large coin in the snow, or water, mud, tall grass etc..

As for the mintage and rarity, you have to remember that thousands of silver dimes were melted down in the past during the silver spikes, who really knows the true quantity of how many are still out there, but one thing is for sure, allot of them are now being brought back into circ as more detectors are being used than ever. Ma bey we should start telling people that detectors don't work, how hot and tiring the digging is, how long it takes to learn a machine and that they suck n stuff like that! Too bad everybody like to find hidden treasure!

good luck
utahshovelhead

 

[D&P-OR]

NebTrac----Let me see if I can answer a part of your question & PRETEND like I know what I'm talkin about! ----Pratically all of the old silver quarters I find are either extremely deep or in extreme trash (OR BOTH)--usually not "easy" targets.---I can't begin to tell you how many times I've gone into areas (hunt sites) & have been told words like--"you're wasteing your time, this place has been hunted out for years" (nonsense like that).----My attitude & reply is always--ohkee doekee, well, I'll give it a shot anyway.---Balls, some of my best hunt areas has come from places like that but you've got to have good equip (like an Etrac) & know how to use it (hunt with it).----Look at it this way, the top stuff (quarters) are "no brainers", anyone can (and do) find them, in a heavily hunted area, they're "history" (for the most part & unless freshly dropped).---Same goes for the top of ground dimes only to a lesser extent (they're a little harder & require a little more effort for the "week end warriors" to find).-----So yes, the surface quarters (and other coins) are gone--now you can get serious & get down to business hunting ALL those deeeep difficult GOOD targets without these top of ground hindrances!! (except for the trash) ----Make sense??--Works for me!---------I'll leave the coin value question for someone else to answer.--I've never found a 1916-D Merc to have to look it's value up anyway. -----------Del

 

[moseng]

Well, as for dimes vs quarters, my theory is that dimes are smaller and easier to lose than larger coins like quarters, halves, etc. At least that's my theory anyway!

 

[filo]

25 cents was a lot of money for (some) people back in the day and I suspect that they would take care not to lose quarters. Therefore there are fewer to find. Dimes are so small though that they are easier to lose track of.

 

[Xmarks]

I agree, Dimes fall out of pockets unnoticed a lot of times. Its harder to loose a quarter due to its size. I just dug my 1st silver quarter yesterday. 1st one ever. Lots of dimes though. I to wish there were more out there.

 

[mike - in]

I (We) used to find quarters and halves much more frequently in the "good old days" of detecting so your suspicion that most have been found I feel is true but I also know that we have always found more dimes than anything else so I believe they were more plentiful in the pocket and easy to loose. The answer to the mintage question I think would be obvious. Value on almost any item increases with rarity. There were half as many 1916D Mercury dimes made than 1913S Barbers so there are fewer of them left and hence, rarer. Like Tiffany glassware. As some get broken over the decades the "survivors" become more valuable.

 

[Goes4ever]

mercury dimes are much more popular with coin collectors. I have asked dealers the same question before and several have told me the barber series is one of the least popular coin series with collectors, hence the wide range in prices even though some are low mintage

 

[NebTrac]

Thanks for all the replies everybody. I sure wish I'd gotten into this hobby in the late 70's when I'd been able to handle the detector. I'm glad I'm in it now though.

NebTrac

 

[in the woods]

Go figure on mintages. Maybe more were destroyed or lost.
I find many more dimes than quarters. Maybe it's the size of the object lost. But, maybe it' was a lot bigger deal to lose twenty five cents vs. 10 cents.
Anyways, keep on a swingin' and you'll get the odd quarter or two. Hopefully a capped bust.

Tin Pan Man