Mercury Dime, Washington Quarter - Reference Book review

[Zebo]

For those of you who have read The Complete Guide to Mercury Dimes, Second Edition Hardcover – August, 2005 by David W. Lange:

 

What do you think about it? Good, bad, indifferent?

 

Are there other books out there that are as good or better?

 

What are your suggestions for a good Washington Quarter reference book?

 

I've decided to expand my library and delve a bit more in US Coins.

 

Appreciate any suggestions.

 

 

 

[DaveG]

Well, you can evaluate the book yourself, as David Lawrence has put it online:

 

Link to Mercury Dime book

 

Personally, I like the book, although I'm not a huge Mercury dime collector.

 

It was the only Mercury dime book out there until Whitman put out its Red Book on Mercury Dimes/Standing Liberty Quarters/Walking Liberty Halves.

 

If you're interested in the genesis of the Mercury dime design as seen through original documents, then you need to get the 1916-1921 volume of Roger Burdette's Renaissance of American Coinage, available through Wizard Coin Supply

 

I'm not a Washington Quarter guy, but you might look at Whitman's Red Book on Washington Quarters.

[physics-fan3.14]

I won a copy of the Merc book in one of the Numismatic Trivia games that NGC used to run. I miss those....

 

Anyways, the book is excellent. It follows the typical formula of a series dedicated book (a little history, a bit about the design, some grading tips, and then a detailed date-by-date analysis). The information is well laid out and informative. Given that it's 10 years old now, I probably wouldn't rely on pop or pricing data, but the other information is still solid.

[Zebo]

Thanks Dave and Jason. Also thanks to David Lawrence.

[KeyMan64]

Lange's book is very good. The information it provides is still relevant and very good today. I recommend reading it for sure. It does not dive deep into the varieties though so if that is your thing, you will need to look to Wexler's website, doubleddie.com or ...

 

The Authoritative Reference on Mercury Dimes by John A. Wexler and Kevin Flynn from 2014. Great variety book but still, some things were left out at the time of publication. The book mostly covers DDOs, DDRs and RPMs.

[jom]

I bought the original edition in the early 90s and I really enjoyed it.

 

I'm still a bit puzzled why Lange's "discovery" of the different types from (I think) 1917 and 1918 never created any interest. In other series minute differences seem to create all kinds of collector interest but with these Mercs it didn't. Odd...

 

jom

 

 

[RWB]

David W. Lange's work is of consistently high quality. This, and his other books, are the kind of things that age well and will be very useful for many decades. Even if someone were to attempt a complete rewrite, there would be only minor changes - additions of varieties - and little conceptual alteration.

[DaveG]

David Lange wrote a column (I think it appeared in The Numismatist) a year or so ago that discussed the Types of 1916, 1917 and 1918, which prompted me to go back to his book to read about them.

 

He mentions in the book that there aren't a lot of varieties among the Mercury Dimes, so perhaps the series never attracted the variety collectors. Although, I think there's at least one Mercury Dime variety collector ATS.

 

I've kept an eye out for these coins at my local shows, but I just don't see a lot of slabbed coins from these years. Perhaps I have to go to a bigger show to do that.

[KeyMan64]

I'm still a bit puzzled why Lange's "discovery" of the different types from (I think) 1917 and 1918 never created any interest. In other series minute differences seem to create all kinds of collector interest but with these Mercs it didn't. Odd...

 

jom

 

I am supposed to be the Mercury Dime Series Expert for the Cherrypickers' Guide 6th Edition Vol 2. I hope to resolve this overlooked issue. Assuming there is room in the book...still waiting to find out how much room there will be for Mercury Dime additions, the "Type of 1916" is on my list, along with 9 other additions. For those of you that know DIMEMAN, he has a similar list where this variety also made the cut.

 

If a variety makes it into the CPG, it will frequently be strongly considered for the complete variety registry sets, here and ATS. Hopefully this will raise the awareness it deserves.

[DWLange]

The two obverse subtypes of 1917 dimes exist for all three mints. There are some differences in rarity, though I'm not certain that any of the six possible varieties are rare enough to command a premium. The market will determine this, if and when they are promoted by someone.

 

Just a point of clarification: These varieties were alluded to by Frank S. Robinson in a 1970 article in The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine. I became aware of this just as my book was going to print, and I believed that I was the first person to notice the differences. Even so, the subtypes were not illustrated by Robinson, and his descriptions were incomplete. It was not until my book illustrated examples of all six hub/mint combinations that collectors took any notice.

[KeyMan64]

It has been my observation that neither type is significantly more scarce than the other and that would lead to a minuscule premium, if any. The premium might be more associated with the variety attribution fees on lower grade examples and close to nothing, over time, on the higher grade examples. I commend Mr. Lange for publishing the info that he did. I know of no other Mercury Dime Variety Specialist/Author that has written about them and there have been a few books that have come out since his book. It is a clear variety and deserves additional attention.