Celebrating one of the most iconic coin designs in American numismatic history, the U.S. Mint is selling the 2016-W Mercury Dime Centennial 1/10 Ounce Gold Coin at noon ET today, April 21. The commemorative appears 100 years after the original Mercury dime was first issued.
Adolph A. Weinman’s representation of Winged Liberty is featured on the obverse with his Roman fasces and olive branch image gracing the reverse. It was the winged cap that started the "Mercury dime" nickname as many mistook Liberty for the Roman god Mercury.
Unlike its century-old predecessor that was struck in 90% silver and 10% copper, this new collectible is composed in .9999 fine 24-karat gold with a business strike finish. Read our earlier article to learn more about the specification differences between the two coins.
Ordering
Limited to 125,000, those interested the gold Mercury dime can order up to 10 of them from the U.S. Mint’s website. The coin’s product page is right here. Initial pricing is $205.00. That price is subject to change weekly based on market fluctuations and the Mint’s pricing matrix.
The centennial Mercury dime is one of three coins to be issued this year that celebrates the 1916 renaissance in American coinage. Standing Liberty and Walking Liberty Centennial Gold Coins will debut later in the year.
Update: The U.S. Mint will provide information about the first day of sales on Friday morning, April 22.
The gold Winged Liberty Head dime finally takes flight at noon!
Adolph A. Weinman would be proud.
-NumisDudeTX
Right with you Seth.
$205.00 per coin.
another collector coin disaster,
Another website meltdown. I got kicked out as soon as I logged in and now I can’t get back into the website. I thought they had all their problems fixed.
one crash after another.
Unacceptable mess by the mint. Managed to get my order of two in but not without a lot of work hassle.
finally done but it looks like they are back to square one
My first purchase from the US Mint. It was better than the US Post Office.
I finally got back on the website after 10 minutes. I got my order through but I almost gave up.
people don’t worry, if u are Real Collector , u should able to buy one, look back JFK gold coin, how long did it need to disappear from US mint,
Reason: Minatage and Marketing
Currently back ordered
“Back Order
The expected in-stock date is Fri May 06 2016”
Unlike Kennedy Gold this one is affordable to just about every collector so the demand should be sufficient to keep it going.
took awhile (a few kick outs) but apparently went thru.
still think it will sell out fast.
And the nightmare continues. After being blown out 5 times I got as far as the order conformation page and was blown out again. I finally was able to place and order but the Order History page is off-line so I cannot check to see if I double ordered! How much did the Mint spend on this new system?
What does back order mean? Are they minting more or are they only selling a set amount on the first day?
“Back order ” means you will get the rejects from the “big boys ” when they’ve returned ones they can’t grade 70…buyers remorse in 3-2-1
You can still order the coin but they will be in stock later states on May 6th.
michael – The May 6 backorder date is just an estimated date based on how many coins they had in their Memphis, Tennessee fulfillment warehouse. Although, the Mint said they struck all the coins from February 23 through March 21 at the West Point Mint, so I don’t know if that was just an initial amount of coins or the full 125,000 coins or if they just shipped a percentage of coins to warehouse for immediate shipping. Crazy situation for a special coin! Mr. Jeppson has some explaining to do on this mess once again with him in charge –… Read more »
The number of these going up on Ebay is amazing. 1 to 3 listings are posted per minute.
Correct us if we are wrong, but the way this works is that 5000-10000 are in stock and shipped out or picked up right away from the contract vendor. These are then cherry picked, graded, and those that do not receive top grades are returned to the mint’s vendor by evil flippers. All this happens relatively fast, just within days and hours. Once the next few thousand are offered for sale on the mint website, there is a strong possibility of getting lesser grade rejects. That possibility increases as time passes, since evil flippers have to strike while the product… Read more »
Michael,
“Back Order” means that they have sold all that they have minted so far, say perhaps 25,000. As soon as they are able to mint more all existing orders will be filled.
Thinking that the order history and other non essential aspects of the mint’s website were shutdown on purpose, to allow extra bandwidth. But, like the freeway at rush hour, you cannot have everyone hitting the bricks at the same moment.
So, the mint said they struck all the coins (also thought they said they were available for immediate shipping) yet already on back order. Must mean John K is/was right.
Currently Unavailable…..did they just sell $26m in revenue in under an hour?
Unavailable now, what is big surprise! Speculators will make profit on this one
Now it say “This product is currently Unavailable”
Boz –
You have the system down just right! We all have 7 days from receipt of the coins to return them for any reason. Returned coins with small problems are restocked at the Mint’s outside vendor Memphis fulfillment center.
-NumisDudeTX
You guys took the words (“Currently Unavailable”) right out of my mouth.
On first attempt the Mint’s website locked up; got through at 12:10 EST and ordered two coins. Order confirmation says “Being Processed.”
Just for kicke I checked the Mint’s website at 12:10 EST and it said “Backorder.”
Now – at 12:52 EST, it says, “This product is currently Unavailable. We are currently out of this item, but more may be available later. Provide your email using the “REMIND ME” button and we will let you know when we are taking orders again.”
Gone – in less than an hour!
Is that possible? All sold in one hour………
Update: Checked the ‘sold’ listings on flea-bay and saw one of these has sold for $375.25, and two sealed boxes of ten went for $2,950.
Expect a similar feeding-frenzy – which I predict will be short-lived – for the Standing Liberty gold coins, followed by the same for the Walkers.
IMHO, the Mercs & Walkers will be more in-demand and retain their value, than the Standing Libertys.
I was able to place my purchase after numerous attempts, pause, web page not found etc. Took about 15 minutes. Order status now indicates ” Being Processed”
Wouldn’t surprise me if the big boys were consulted about the mintage and HH limits and maybe even the design of the box. Glad I stayed out, I was initially interested in the dime and quarter but the Mint’s shenanigans stuck in my craw … ..
Man, I was in a meeting and really wanted one. Any chance they pop back up?
Really guys, any conspiracy theorists out there?
Next it will be aliens running the Mint and they will be using bigfoots to run the minting process.
On the positive side, Gold is continuing its upward move and (any way you look at it) this coin is going to be a good future investment.
These coins did NOT sell out. I got my 3 coins just before I hear they went on backorder status. They just sold a certain percentage of the 125,000 coins that the Mint sent to their vendor-run fulfillment center in Memphis. The Mint doesn’t send all coins at once there for some reason & they may not have struck all 125,000 coins although the Mint stated that the coins were minted from February 23-March 21 at West Point Mint. The Mint’s press release about this special gold coin last week, & in the coin description area on their website states… Read more »
I remembered @ 9:05 pst, went to my Mac, got the mint website ordered 2 & went to check out, then decided to add some 1o15 proof sets, then it took 3-4x to get a secure link back & order was placed. I got 2 as I think the value & long erm will be ?’able due to the high mintage v. the popularity…But, I think matched with the gold 1/10th Buffalos I have I could make a great gold set for ebay profit$…..
The way the Mint’s being run, maybe the aliens might do a better job at it than the current managers!
Had some website trouble but was eventually able to order. Selling all of them to a dealer. I am gambling that I can pick one up down the road for a lower price, but if that doesn’t happen I’m fine with it. I like Merc dimes but am not a huge fan of modern mint products.
If you are looking to profit on increasing Gold prices why not buy a Gold ETF or Gold mining stock options and leave the commemorative coins to individual collector’s who are just trying to purchase 1???
Got my U.S. Mint e-mail order confirmation at 12:38ET for 3 coins. I lucked out I guess.
-NumisDudeTX
Ordered 2 at 1036 kinda late got email confirmation at 10 38 no problems at all : )
I’m in Mountain time so 12:36ET got May 6 ETA
Big D –
Interesting comment. The U.S. Mint should do like the Royal Canadian Mint & Perth Mint Australia do. The RCM only sells to residents of Canada & USA (& some of their products are only available for those with a Canadian address) & by Australian law the Perth Mint Australia & Royal Australian Mint have to reserve 10 percent of all coins issued for Australian residents. We in the USA are competing with collectors & dealers worldwide who can order any product from the U.S. Mint.
-NumisDudeTX
Got mine!! Yesssssssss!!!
Yes, I have experienced the old website getting bogged down when the US Mint released coins that created a frenzy. (I don’t order a ton of the frenzied coins, most I just get via subscriptions.) Today, however, it seems I may have had some better luck. I didn’t have issues ordering. I ordered a single Mercury Dime 2016 Centennial Gold Coin. I didn’t get a backordered indication either. I ended up getting a text message from my credit card processor that I had been charged…and, for some reason, I am thinking that meant my order was getting worked on ASAP–perhaps… Read more »
I was able to order a quantity of two by 12:09PM EDT. I had to use a laptop when my attempts to purchase with an iPhone were met with connection timeouts.
Jon,
As of right now, my orders are in the “Processing” stage.
I also received my “US Mint Has Received Your Order” email.
I do believe that means that my orders have been received and that they aren’t on “Back Order” status.
I myself am really surprised it sold out in under an hour. The prices on eBay at first will be high and then maybe calm down latter. That is a maybe. Like I said before, I guess we can not understand or know how this hobby will play out. That goes for the first day of issue and if it will sell out early and quick or if it is a coin that will never reach the mintage limit at all and then if it will be a money maker on the secondary market or a good investment for those… Read more »