1942/1 Mercury Dime. FS-101. MS-65 (PCGS).A charming example that offers significant condition rarity for this popular naked eye overdate. Otherwise champagne-tinged surfaces exhibit warm, gently mottled peripheral toning in orange-russet. Luster is full with a soft, yet lively satin texture. The strike is superior for the issue even in the absence of a Full Bands designation, the detail razor sharp in most areas and a loupe revealing only minor softness confined to the central reverse crossbands and the portion of the fasces immediately below.<p>The genesis of this overdate lies in concurrent production of 1941- and 1942-dated working dies for Mercury dime coinage at the Philadelphia Mint in the later months of 1941. As early as September of that year (per David W, Lange, 2005) the Philadelphia Mint had begun production of working dies for the 1942-dated issue, although demand for 1941-dated dies continued through years end. At some point during that period of time at least two working dies received their first impression from a 1941-dated working hub, followed by a second impression from a 1942-dated working hub. One of these dies remained in Philadelphia for coinage, while the other was shipped to the Denver Mint where it created the 1942/1-D.<p>The 1942/1 was discovered early, with an image of an example appearing in the May 1943 issue of <em>The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine</em>. Although the resultant numismatic interest resulted in a fair number of circulated coins being retrieved from commercial channels, few Mint State pieces have survived. As a solidly graded Gem, the coin offered here is among the finest available in todays market and is sure to have no difficulty finding its way into an advanced collection of Mercury dimes or 20th century coinage varieties.PCGS# 5036. NGC ID: 23K4.PCGS Population: 8; 11 finer in this category (MS-67+ finest).From our Baltimore Auction of March 2013, lot 2033.
