January 2010 - Volume 1 Issue 1

January 2010 – Volume 1 Issue 1

The Annual January Dinner Meeting of the BCCC will be

held at Dinah’s Restaurant on January 14th at 7 PM
6521 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045
Phone: (310) 645-0456

(Continued on Page 2)

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 January 2010 - Volume 1 Issue 1

January Dinner Meeting - January 14th at 7 PM

(Continued from Page 1)

FROM THE NORTH:

1. Take I-405 S toward LAX AIRPORT/LONG BEACH. 3.9 mi

2. Take the JEFFERSON BLVD exit, EXIT 50A. 0.2 mi
3. Turn RIGHT onto JEFFERSON BLVD. 0.1 mi
4. Turn LEFT onto MESMER AVE. 0.3 mi
5. Turn LEFT onto W CENTINELA AVE. 0.3 mi
6. Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto S SEPULVEDA BLVD. 0.0 mi
7. 6521 S SEPULVEDA BLVD is on the RIGHT.

FROM THE SOUTH:

1. Take I-405 N toward SANTA MONICA.

2. Merge onto HOWARD HUGHES PKWY via EXIT 49A.
3. Turn RIGHT onto S SEPULVEDA BLVD. 0.4 mi
4. 6521 S SEPULVEDA BLVD is on the LEFT

BCCC BAY CITIES COIN CLUB www.baycitiescoinclub.org 2

 January 2010 - Volume 1 Issue 1

Grandma’s Mercury Dimes

By Daniel Goevert
One vivid memory of my very early childhood back in the 1960’s was of driving to church on Sunday morn-
ings with my family. Since my grandparents lived close to us, Dad would always swing by and pick them up,
and we’d all carpool together. It was the job of “Little Danny” (as I was affectionately nicknamed back then)
to sit in the backseat, wedged snugly between Grandpa and Grandma.

As if some sort of ritual, every Sunday Grandma would fish though her purse to find goodies for me and my
older brother. Grandma almost always carried Wrigley’s chewing gum, though once in a while we had to set-
tle for a cherry-flavored cough drop. For a bonus treat, Grandma gave each grandson a coin to go in the pig-
gybank. There were a few instances when I received a dime featuring a lady who sported a wild-looking
hairdo, or at least that’s how it appeared to a 4-year-old. On one occasion, Grandma explained to me the
coin was called a Mercury dime. She was a coin collector of sorts, and I credit her with encouraging my first
interest in coins. Even though it didn’t mean much to me at the time, this was my first lesson on Mercury
dimes.
With the passage of years, I gathered more knowledge on Mercury dimes. For example, I learned the face
on the obverse really wasn’t that of Mercury, the male Roman messenger god, as the public has largely be-
lieved ever since the dime was first released in 1916. Instead, the coin’s designer, A.A. Weinman, intended to
portray a rendition of Lady Liberty crowned by a winged cap, to symbolize liberty of thought. However, the
“Mercury dime” moniker stuck, and is still by far the most common reference for this beautiful ten cent coin.
The correct name, Winged Liberty Head dime, is used much less frequently. Oh well, at least I can congratu-
late myself, for even as a small child, I was able to recognize the person on the dime as a woman, not a
man!
Another important fact about Mercury dimes worth mentioning is that back when Grandma was coin collect-
ing, not much attention was focused on the degree of separation and roundness seen in the horizontal bands
holding together the bundle of rods on the reverse side. Full Split Bands (abbreviated "FSB") resulted from
striking by fresh dies, and have proven to be much rarer than blended, flattened bands. Generally speaking,
if a Mercury dime displays fully separated and rounded bands, it can generate prices far above less distinctive
specimens of the same date, mintmark, and grade. For the last 10-15 years, most Mercury dime value guides
have carried an FSB category for mint state grades.
Recently, I decided to chart the value trends of Mercury dimes over a long period of time, for the purpose
of identifying Mercs that have historically demonstrated the best gains. My theory is that coins that have
shown the strongest price increases consistently in the past are the same coins most likely to accomplish the
same in the years ahead. I don’t advocate purchasing Mercury dimes or any other coins for the sake of meas-
uring ROI, but speaking for myself, if I ever decide to add to my Mercury dime collection, I want to make se-
lections designed to (A) please my numismatic taste buds, and (B) stimulate competitive bidding amongst
future generations of collectors. (Continued on Page 4)

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 January 2010 - Volume 1 Issue 1

Grandma’s Mercury Dimes

(Continued from Page 3)
To quantify past performance and to evaluate Mercury dimes best positioned to experience strong
future price advancements, I called upon a mathematical analysis I developed to reach similar ob-
jectives for other coin series.
First, I researched Mercury dime retail values for individual coins as they were reported in the year
1950, covering a wide range of conditions, and entered this data on a computer spreadsheet. Mov-
ing forward in time, values from the years 1980, 1995, and 2000 were similarly captured. Finally,
estimated selling prices in 2005 were placed adjacent to matching data from those earlier years. Be-
cause grading terminology has evolved over the 55 year period, certain assumptions were made to
progressively track price movements throughout the time spectrum (e.g. an “Uncirculated” value in
1950 is equivalent to the “MS-60” of today). The highest grade inserted into the analysis was MS-
65, for which I was able to list relatively complete data starting in the 1995 data column. Because I
deemed “FSB” data to be somewhat sporadic, I elected not to include it in this study for the sake of
stability.
For each date and condition, compounded annual return rates were computed from 1950 to 2005.
Return rate computations were likewise made from 1980 to 2005, 1995 to 2005, and 2000 to 2005.
For each Mercury dime, the data was placed in tabular format. Next, I calculated a “composite”
score for each date by averaging all the compounded return rates computed for that date. I then
ranked all the “composite” scores. The Mercury dimes with the top five highest scores are: 1916-D
7.71, 1942 (2 Over 1) 7.64, 1921-D 4.90, 1945-S (Micro) 4.58, 1942-D (2 Over 1) 4.39
It should surprise no one that the kingpin of the Mercury dime series is the 1916-D. Long consid-
ered one of the classic rarities of the 20th century and a favorite of collectors, we now have some
statistical evidence to support this claim. Experienced Mercury dime collectors probably would ex-
pect to see the other dates making the “Top Five”, though the 1945-S (Micro) will cause some head
scratching. At the opposite end of performance, there is a logjam of dimes crowded into the 2.50-
3.50 range. The value of these coins is dominated by their silver bullion content and merit only small
numismatic premiums, with the exception of higher grade specimens.
Okay, let’s say you’re fascinated with the history and style of the Mercury dime. You’ve decided its
time to add a few to your coin gallery, yet at the same time, you’re afraid of spending money on
something doomed to stagnate in value over time. Bottom line solution: purchase a member of the
“Top Five” ranked above. Yes, they’re a bit pricey, but instead of buying many of the less expensive
Mercury dimes, save your cash and get a single example of a proven winner. You will be pleased
with this strategy as the years roll buy. Buy the absolute best grade you can afford, and always, al-
ways obtain coins that are problem-free and CERTIFIED by a reputable grading service. Sadly, many
fakes and alterations exist.
Thinking back again to those childhood days, I can’t begin to remember what happened to most of
the coins Grandma gave me on our Sunday morning drives. Somehow, over the decades, I’ve man-
aged to keep preserved in a special place a tiny handful of Grandma’s Mercury dimes. All common
dates, there’s not a 1916-D in the bunch, but their sentimental value to me is incalculable. These
coins were a heartfelt gift from someone close to me who departed from this world long ago and
they helped inspire in “Little Danny” a lifelong enchantment with a wonderful hobby.
You know, come to think of it, let me add one more bit of advice: while you’re bagging a “Top
Five” Mercury dime, you ought to stop by the Bargain Bin and pull out a few 1944-D’s for your chil-
dren and grandchildren. You just never know what you might get started.

BCCC4 BAY CITIESCCCC

PAGE COINJournal
CLUB www.baycitiescoinclub.org 4
 January 2010 - Volume 1 Issue 1

December Club News

The December meeting was called to order at 6:44 PM with 30 people present, including one old
guest. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Clint McG. Tyler Gobble won the membership drawing of
$3, which he took in the form of a COINO card. The Treasurer’s report was approved, followed by
the approval of the November minutes.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Bernie M.—Told us about a local coin show in Westchester on Jan. 30-31 along with the flyers for
the show. He then showed us a coin grading book the he purchased called, “Making the Grade”.
The book has photos of coins in each grade, making it very simple to place your coin on the page
and selecting the matching photo.
George G.—Showed us two gold coins for us to choose one of for our annual gold drawing to be
held in January. One of which was selected by a member vote later in the evening.
Scott G.—Stated that they had small bags of mistletoe for sale for $4 each. The proceeds of which
go to support the troops in Iraq & Afghanistan.
Richard N.—Thought the video he watched was excellent also.
Rob P.—Checked one out but hasn’t viewed it yet.
Garn A.—Mentioned that you can go to www.xerox.com to send an e-card to our troops also.
Garn A.—Opened up nominations for 2010 club officers. A motion was immediately made to close
the nominations and then a motion was made to keep the same officers as last year. The vote was
unanimous.
Steve D.—Coin Show announcement—Ontario Coin Show is coming up and he is going to attend.
Steve D.—Attended the Ellen Degeneres TV show. He was given free tickets to “The Twelve Days
of Christmas where he received a bunch of gifts-$500 gift cards, airplane tickets and more. Then
there was a discussion about whether or not we will be able to get separate checks at our annual
dinner meeting.
Jack vB./George G.—Displayed various sample logos for our new club. Later on we voted on them
and two of them had votes. Perhaps we will use the one with the most votes for the obverse of a
coin and the other one for the reverse. Sounds good to me!

COINO
Game 1—Anthony L.-Large Cent Token
Game 2—Steve D.-2009 American Eagle $1
Game 3—Art W.-Wright Bros. $1 commemorative
Game 4—Art W.-Lewis & Clark $1 commemorative
Game 5—Jack vB.-2009 Presidential $1 Proof set
Game 6—Anthony L.-Peace $1
Game 7—George G.-1999 SBA Proof $1
Game 8—Gordon W.-Christmas tree and all the coins

(Continued on Page 6)

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 January 2010 - Volume 1 Issue 1

December Club News-Continued

We had a terrific spread that was put on by Bernie M., Art W. and Rob P. that included hot lasagna,
rolls, sodas and orange juice. Art W. brought the desserts—George W. added some snowball cook-
ies—Clint McG. brought lemon cake, popcorn, chips and salsa—Jack vB. brought carrot cake—Eric
P. brought two plates of cookies—Christmas sugar cookies and oatmeal/raisin cookies. Thanks to
all—it was more food than we could eat.

Our Grand Prize Winner of COINO Blackout

Gordon Wilvang

Meeting adjourned at 8:37 PM.

BCCC BAY CITIES COIN CLUB www.baycitiescoinclub.org 6

 January 2010 - Volume 1 Issue 1

President’s Message
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful
Christmas with your families and friends. I spent Christmas in
San Diego and enjoyed a relaxing and fun time with friends. Af-
ter Christmas, I drove to Arizona and met a group of friends. We
all piled in my car and drove to Laughlin for a few days before
returning to Arizona for New Years, then it was back home to
California. I think in all I put a couple of thousand miles on my
new car. A lot of driving but it was fun seeing all my friends and
spending time with them.
While in Laughlin, I visited a little shop there that is part Pawn
Shop, part Jewelry Store and part Coin shop. I spent an hour or
so pouring over their coins but didn’t find anything I needed to
upgrade my Type Set. I did find a couple of Silver Strikes that I liked so ended up buying them.
One of my friends went with me and he ended up buying a nice looking but inexpensive ring for his
wife. It was an interesting little shop that I plan to visit again during future trips to Laughlin.
After returning home, I contacted Dinah’s Restaurant and booked our dinner reservations for Janu-
ary 14th. Again, we will essentially be taking over the back room of the restaurant. I gave them an
estimate of 50 to 60 people as I’m hoping most members will bring their spouses, significant others
or friends. I understand that Sue Demmer will be contacting everyone to get a head count of peo-
ple planning to attend. So hopefully you can bring someone with you. Aside from having dinner,
the only activities for this meeting will be installing the officers for 2010, having the annual atten-
dance/gold drawings, and holding our normal coin raffle. Several new members were asking at the
last meeting whether we would hold an auction at the dinner. Unfortunately, we won’t have the fa-
cility or time to conduct an auction, so that will have to wait until our February meeting.
As a reminder, all our membership cards expired on December 31st so we need to buy our new
cards at the dinner as well. They are $7.50 for the year. You want to be sure to get your card at
the dinner because the Long Beach Coin Show will take place before our February meeting. Your
membership card will get you a discounted admission to that show as well as to most other local
club shows that charge admission. So, please remember to pick-up your membership card at the
dinner.
It has been a few weeks since I have spoken with Phil Iversen about our merger with the Bay Cit-
ies Coin Club. He had begun the process of filing paperwork with the IRS and the California Secre-
tary of State to reinstate their exempt status. So I will hopefully have an update for the dinner on
where things stand with the merger. It would be great if we can make that official at the dinner to
start the New Year off as the newly combined Bay Cities Coin Club from the beginning of the year.
I look forward to seeing you all at the dinner. Until then…

Collect Early and Often

Garn

BCCC BAY CITIES COIN CLUB www.baycitiescoinclub.org 7

 January 2010 - Volume 1 Issue 1
OUR NEW LOGO VOTING RESULTS

First Place Second Place

If or when we make a medal we could use the left design for the obverse and the right one for the reverse.

Refreshments
January—N/A February—Jack von Bloeker III

Member Spotlight
January—N/A February—???

Coin Shows
Jan 2-3 San Bernardino
Damus Bldg., National Orange Show Fairgrounds, Mill Street & Arrowhead Ave., Free parking
Hrs: Sat. 10AM-5PM, Sun. 10AM-4PM FRE
Jan 30-31 Playa del Rey
Westchester Elks Lodge, 8025 W. Manchester Ave., Play del Rey, Free parking
Hrs: Sat. 10AM-6PM, Sun. 10AM-4PM ADM

Meetings are normally held at the El Segundo Library, 111 West Mariposa Avenue,
El Segundo, CA. Next meeting is on Thursday, January 14th @ 7:00 PM
@ Dinah’s Restaurant.

2010 OFFICERS
President Items of interest for this newsletter
Garn Anderson can be mailed to:
Vice President The BCCC Journal
Richard Navarro c/o Jack von Bloeker III
Secretary/Editor 5714 Apia Drive
Jack von Bloeker III Cypress, CA 90630
Treasurer or emailed to: jvonb3@ca.rr.com
George Gill

BCCC BAY CITIES COIN CLUB www.baycitiescoinclub.org 8