1945 10C, FB MS63FB Certification #50099408, PCGS #5057

Heritate Auction (November 2005): Center bands are barely separate, but enough for the designation on this fluke final year rarity from Philly (primarily due to the rush to melt in 1964 before 'full bands' were fully appreciated).

David Hall

I first became aware of the "Full band" situation with Mercury dimes in about 1975. I was at a coin show and the late Tom MacAfee said to me, "I want to show you something very special and teach you something about Mercury dimes." So he pulled out a 1945-P and told me he had just sold it to a customer for $50. Since this was a $2 coin as far as I knew, I was pretty puzzeled. Tom told me to look at the bands on the reverse. He said if I could find another one with full bands he'd pay me $40. And so I started looking for that date and others and soon discovered that some Mercury dimes...1943-D, 1944-D, etc...always come with full bands, and some so-called easy dates in Uncirculated condition are really rare with full bands. By 1976, I had convinced the Coin Dealer Newsletter owner/editor Allen Harriman to list separate full band prices in the CDN and the market soon gained traction. Today, the 1945-P with fully struck crossbands Mercury dime is one of the great condition rarities of numismatics, a Gem non-bands is $20 or so, and a Gem with full bands is a five figure coin.