Coin Weight Tolerance

Hi Guys,

As of December I've been reading up a lot online and bought myself a couple books on US Coins. I decided to start with the Mercury Dime. I got myself a 10X Mag and a Scale. So, I decided to make my first big purchase this weekend and got a 1921 on Ebay. The seller has almost 7000 sales and is 100% approval. I weighed the coin and it checked in at 2.35g. The coin looks and sounds ok. The date is a little questionable. So my question is (which I cant find online), what is the tolerance for weight? 2.35 seems awful low. Thanks in advance! And please go easy on me because I'm new and trying to figure this all out!

-John

 

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There is a great article here that discusses "Wear" and in post number 14 there is a chart that shows the variance in weight between different grades of wheat pennies. It would also be applicable to other coins such as merc dimes.

http://www.cointalk.com/t131094/

 

Weight tolerance of mercury dime is 2.5 grams +/- 0.097 grams.

 

That's at time of manufacture, right?

By that figure, the OP's coin is less than 3% below tolerance. Based on the observations in the other thread, it's believable.

I ordered two high-resolution scales, one 300g x 10mg, the other 30g x 1mg, in early December. But I ordered them from a Chinese eBay seller, and I think they're never going to arrive. If I ever see them, I intend to do some extensive weight-vs-wear analysis -- and my best sample population, in terms of size and range of wear, is definitely Mercury dimes. You can be sure I'll post here if I can get anything together.

 

Yes, that is the mint production weight tolerances for Mercury dimes from Breen's Encyclopedia.

 

so... from what i get, weighing is only really good for coins that are in top condition. if the coin in worn, weighing will be off and then, who knows! The dime seems real. it does feel a bit thinner and worn. I'm thinking about bringing it to the coin show this weekend and maybe having a dealer take a look if i get a little friendly with one. not sure if that's against the etiquette.

any advice on my situation? or the next step you would take. the coin sounds real. color is ok. not weighing in properly... just not sure where to go with this. my other 1920's dimes are weighing in around the same so it must be a worn thing. .15 seems like a lot tho

with all the fakes out there, it would be a bummer saving this coin and come to find out 20 years from now its a "fugazi".

thanks for the replies guys!

 

Ohhh yeaaa circulated coins that start to get into the EF45 and less start to go on a diet...

 

thanks guys... that pretty much sums it up!

 

I purchased a 1921 mercury dime at a coin show in 2008. I consider the dime about G-4. It weighs in at 2.33-grams. Based on this one data point, your 2.35-grams seems like the right ball park for a worn merc.

 

I have a 1979 dime that weighs 2.42 grams any ideas on why it’s outside the tolerance zone..And yes I have triple checked other coins to make sure the scale is reading correctly

 

Thanks for the response and I weighed a handful of nickels and a handful of other dimes the same year and surrounding years and all are weighing correctly and then that one keeps coming up the same every time.

 

Also I checked the thickness and width and compared it to the same years and surrounding years and it’s the same as well

 

I enjoyed the lesson guys, thanks. Great post question.

 

Blanks are punched from clad strips which are rolled to a specified thickness. If the strip is a little thicker/thinner, or if there are variations within the strip, the blanks may weigh outside the tolerance.

While technically, it is out of tolerance and is considered an error, 0.06 grams is not enough to add any value or significant interest. Nothing wrong with putting it in a 2x2 if you like it, however.

 

You have posted this in three different threads, none of which you started. I am glad you got your answer, but please learn how to start your own thread from the "forums" tab at the top. Pick a forum, click "start new thread" and go from there. Post pictures full size. Welcome to the forum.

 

A 1921 Mercury Dime was not made from a Clad Strip.

 

Absolutely correct.

However, if you look at post #12, a new member jumped in yesterday to this 11 year old thread and had a question regarding a 1979 dime. Last I checked, that dime was blanked from clad strip.