1916 Best of the Mint Mercury Dime & Silver Medal Set – SP70

2026 Best of the Mint 1916 Mercury Dime 1/10 oz. Gold Coin & 1 oz. Silver Medal – NGC SP70 Early Releases

One of America’s most celebrated coin designs returns in an entirely new form for the nation’s 250th anniversary.

To commemorate the Semiquincentennial of American independence, the United States Mint created its historic “Best of the Mint” series, inviting the public and numismatic experts to help select some of the greatest coin designs in U.S. history. From a field of 21 candidates, just five designs were chosen: the Mercury Dime, Standing Liberty Quarter, Walking Liberty Half Dollar, 1804 Silver Dollar and Saint-Gaudens High Relief $20 Gold Coin. The legendary 1916 Mercury Dime was selected to lead the series as its very first release.

Originally introduced in 1916, Adolph A. Weinman’s famous dime is more accurately known as the Winged Liberty Head Dime. Liberty appears wearing a winged cap intended to symbolize freedom of thought, but the image was quickly nicknamed “Mercury” because of its resemblance to the Roman god. The design would circulate through nearly three remarkable decades of American history, from World War I through the Great Depression and World War II.

For 2026, the U.S. Mint has brought Weinman’s masterpiece back as a legal-tender dime struck in one-tenth troy ounce of 99.99% pure, 24-karat gold at the West Point Mint. The obverse retains the classic 1916 date, while a special Liberty Bell privy containing the numeral “250” distinguishes this historic America 250 issue. The reverse preserves Weinman’s symbolic fasces, representing strength through unity, alongside an olive branch and battle ax representing America’s desire for peace and readiness to defend it.

Accompanying the gold coin is a substantial one-ounce .999 fine silver medal, struck at the Philadelphia Mint. Rather than simply duplicating the original dime, the Mint commissioned an entirely new artistic interpretation inspired by the period in which the Mercury Dime circulated. Designed by U.S. Mint Artistic Infusion Program artist Kathryn Hudson, the composition flows from obverse to reverse and tells the story of 1916 through 1945. Liberty appears in defensive and offensive poses recalling America’s involvement in two World Wars, while Hooverville shacks represent the Great Depression, swirling imagery recalls the Dust Bowl, and rays extending from Liberty’s sword symbolize hope emerging from conflict.

The U.S. Mint established a remarkably limited 30,000-piece mintage limit for this inaugural Best of the Mint issue.

CSN takes this already historic set another step further. Both the 1/10 oz. Gold Mercury Dime and the 1 oz. Silver Companion Medal have been individually certified by NGC in the top SP70 grade and carry the coveted Early Releases designation, reserved for qualifying coins and medals received by NGC within the first 30 days of release. Each piece is encapsulated with NGC’s special America 250 certification label, creating a beautifully matched pair commemorating this once-in-a-generation anniversary.

Complete with the original U.S. Mint packaging, this set combines one of America’s most beloved historic coin designs, 24-karat gold, a substantial modern silver medal, an extremely limited mintage and perfect-grade NGC certification—all in the first release of one of the U.S. Mint’s centerpiece programs for America’s 250th anniversary.