PCGS MS67+FB
PCGS MS67FB
- PCGS #:
- 4987
- Designer:
- Adolph Alexander Weinman
- Edge:
- Reeded
- Diameter:
- 17.90 millimeters
- Weight:
- 2.50 grams
- Mintage:
- 1,800,000
- Mint:
- San Francisco
- Metal:
- 90% Silver, 10% Copper
- Auction Record:
- $270,250 • MS67+FB • 06-27-2019 • Legend Rare Coin Auctions
Rarity and Survival Estimates Learn More
| Survival Estimate | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 400 |
| 60 or Better | 400 |
| 65 or Better | 250 |
| Numismatic Rarity | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | R-6.2 |
| 60 or Better | R-6.2 |
| 65 or Better | R-6.6 |
| Relative Rarity By Type All Specs in this Type | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 12 / 80 TIE |
| 60 or Better | 12 / 80 TIE |
| 65 or Better | 28 / 80 TIE |
| Relative Rarity By Series All Specs in this Series | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 12 / 80 TIE |
| 60 or Better | 12 / 80 TIE |
| 65 or Better | 28 / 80 TIE |
Condition Census What Is This?
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#1 PCGS MS67+FB
As PCGS MS67FB #13196867. Heritage Auctions, November 29, 2007, Lot 60476 – $20,700; “The Grand Prix Collection,” Legend Rare Coin Auctions, March 21, 2019, Lot 139 – $19,387.50. As PCGS MS67+FB #13196867. Legend Rare Coin Auctions, June 27, 2019, Lot 211 – $270,250; Dell Loy Hansen; "The D.L. Hansen Mercury Dimes FB/Major Varieties Collection" (PCGS Set Registry). Top pop, pop one when offered. Champagne hue with flecks of butterscotch toning along the periphery. Tiny tock on jaw. Two small marks to the right of I of LIBERTY. |
#1 PCGS MS67+FB
Legend Rare Coin Auctions, July 18, 2013, Lot 119 - $34,500 ; "The Forsythe II Collection"; Legend Rare Coin Auctions, December 15, 2016, Lot 230 – $27,025; MADHATTER's "MERC MADNESS Collection" (PCGS Set Registry). As PCGS MS67+FB #25014827. FS-101. Doubled Die Obverse. Brilliant with a faint whisp of gold color to the left of the face and along the bottom edge of the obverse. On the reverse, there is a fleck in the left field below N of UNITED. Color around the legend. |
#2 PCGS MS67FB
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#2 PCGS MS67FB
GreatCollections, May 26, 2024, Lot 1517109 - $13,162.50. |
#2 PCGS MS67FB
GreatCollections, March 24, 2024, Lot 1428091 - $8,718.75. |
#2 PCGS MS67FB
(Possibly) As PCGS MS67FB #3698843. "The Harold and Jan P. Kritzman Collection of Mercury Dimes," Heritage Auctions, January 10, 2002, Lot 6648 - $12,650. As PCGS MS67FB #50115213. “The Joseph C. Thomas Collection, Part Two” Heritage Auctions, April 30, 2009, Lot 2286 – $40,250; The Forsythe Collection". As PCGS MS67FB #27236894. “The Warren Collection,” Heritage Auctions, May 4, 2022, Lot 3375 – $22,800. FS-101. Doubled Die Obverse. Brilliant. Ticks to the right of the second S of STATES.
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#2 PCGS MS67FB
Heritage Auctions, January 9, 2020, Lot 4152 – $12,600. Brilliant with faint brown scattered toning. |
#2 PCGS MS67FB
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#2 PCGS MS67FB
Heritage Auctions, November 1, 2013, Lot 3566 – $28,200. Brilliant. Very light marks on the lower half of the fasces. |
#2 PCGS MS67FB
As PCGS MS67FB #21465149. “The William Dominick Collection,” Heritage Auctions, April 2001, Lot 6249; “The Joshua II Collection of Mercury Dimes, #1 All-Time Finest PCGS Registry Set,” Heritage Auctions, August 12, 2010, Lot 4529 – $37,375. As PCGS MS67FB #37912394. FS-101. Doubled Die Obverse. Pale gold hue with hints of violet. Dark spot to the left of Liberty’s nose. Scattered spots on Liberty’s cheek and neck. |
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#2 PCGS MS67FB
GreatCollections, December 15, 2024, Lot 1325616 - $8,437.50; "The Daning Collection" (PCGS Set Registry). Brilliant. Light marks below TE of UNITED. |
#2 PCGS MS67FB
As PCGS MS67FB #36783946. GreatCollections, March 24, 2019, Lot 671412 - $24,187.50. As PCGS MS67FB #37141012.MADHATTER's "MONSTERS OF THE MIDWAY Collection" (PCGS Set Registry). Brilliant with russet toning on Libery's cheek and cap and below center on the reverse. |
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#2 PCGS MS67FB
"The Apollo Collection" (PCGS Set Registry). |
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#2 PCGS MS67FB
"The Larry Martin Collection" PCGS Set Registry. |
| #2 PCGS MS67FB |
The stock market crash of October 1929 wiped out roughly $30 billion in wealth—roughly equivalent to what the U.S. had spent on the entirety of World War I. With it, the "Roaring Twenties" came to a screeching halt. The following year, Republicans in Congress pushed for the passage of the expansive Smoot-Hawley Tariff, which exacerbated the crisis by setting off a global trade war and ensuring the recession would metastasize into the Great Depression.
These economic hardships fundamentally changed how Americans viewed money and drastically reduced the demand for new coinage. Production of Mercury Dimes plummeted by 67% from 1929 to 1930, and by another 47% from 1930 to 1931. Demand for the ten-cent denomination had not been this low since 1896. Following the 1931 mintage, dime production was paused entirely until 1934; furthermore, the San Francisco Mint would not strike dimes again until 1935.
Collecting 1931-S Mercury Dimes
The San Francisco Mint struck 1,800,000 1931-S Mercury Dimes (#4986, #4987), This total is 540,000 more than the 1931-D (#4984, #4985), but 1,350,000 fewer than the 1931 P. (#4982, #4983).
Despite having a higher mintage than the Denver issue, the 1931-S is the scarcest of the three when seeking examples with Full Bands (FB), whereas the 1931-D is the most common in that state. This striking quality disparity, in which San Francisco coins often lack the sharp detail found on Denver or Philadelphia issues, is a recurring theme throughout the Mercury Dime series.
Vintage Market Snippet
A notice in the June 1934 The Numismatist reveals that collectors could obtain Uncirculated 1931-S Mercury Dimes for just ten cents each, requiring only an additional payment to cover first-class shipping charges.
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