Roosevelt silver dimes vs Mercury
 

From a purely investment standpoint, do you place a higher value on the Mercury? Or is a 90% dime a 90% dime?

Re: Roosevelt silver dimes vs Mercury
 

I can not answer authoritatively, and I imagine opinions will differ a little. Although I got a very good deal, I did pay a little more for a bag of Mercs than Roosevelts. Likewise, if selling I would sell my Roosevelts first and hang on to the Mercs. If others think the way I do, then perhaps the Mercs rightly do command a slightly higher premium. A pure bullion player would not pay up for the Mercs but would buy the most silver for the least money. I didn't mind paying the slight premium because I have always loved those coins. At any rate, I do not think that Mercury dimes command a substantial premium, but a slight one, yes.

Re: Roosevelt silver dimes vs Mercury
 

You can normally get full bags ($1000 face) of Mercury dimes for $100-$200 premium over regular "junk" Roosevelts, and they are definately more "collectable" (think Whitman Albums) than the Roosevelts due to the obsolete design elements. Besides that, Mercury Dimes have always been a popular favorite of earlier generations who remember them growing up as kids, back when a "dime" would buy a couple of Cokes, a BIG candy bar, or even a movie ticket.

Re: Roosevelt silver dimes vs Mercury
 

its a lot harder to look through roosevelts and make sure they are all pre-65. With mercs, you can see right off whether they are 90% or not.

Re: Roosevelt silver dimes vs Mercury
 

I agree with what the others are saying. I also prefer the Mercs because the are more easily recognizable as silver than the Roosies, and they may have a slight numismatic edge to them, (plus I just like them more!) but I wouldn't pay much more for them than I would for the Roosies.

That being said, I have noticed that most of the Mercs I get have more wear on them. If you have a bunch of both, pile a stack of 50 Mercs next to 50 Roosies, you should see that the Pile of Roosies is higher due to less wear on each dime, so they retain more silver content. I don't know if it is enough to really worry about though.

My favorite is when I buy a quantity of 90% dimes and there is a good mix of both in them. ( I really get a kick out of the odd Barber dime I find every now and then!)

Re: Roosevelt silver dimes vs Mercury
 

Lets see��

Old worn mercury dimes, worn thin, with unreadable dates - - bad

Junk bags of un-circulated 64� dimes - - good

Mercury and Roosevelt dimes tarnished badly enough that you�re not sure what they are - - bad

Hg and Roosevelt dimes that have curled edges - - bad

All kidding around aside, as junk, they are all priced the same, so it�s really a matter of personal preference.

With that said, I prefer the Hg ( mercury ) dimes.

Now if we�re having this same debate about junk halves, I�ll opt for the Franklins over both the Walkers and 64� Kennedy pieces. But again, it�s just my personal preference.