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In 1916, the US Mint decided to switch out the Barber dime, which was personally designed by the US Mint's Chief Engraver. The US Mint held a competition of designs for the possible new dime and Adolph Weinman, the German-American sculptor won. Weinman's design was meant to depict a Winged Liberty, wearing an ancient Phrygian cap but earned its nickname of the Mercury dime since it was very similar to the Greek god, Mercury.
Although the design of the Mercury dime was revered for its unique creativity, it was less popular for those who actually had to produce the coin. The Mercury dime was incredibly difficult to make into a die design but still had a long run from 1916-1945. The 1916-S Mercury Dime is in very fine condition, containing some wear but the date should still be readable. There were over 10 million dimes, minted by the San Francisco Mint in 1916.
The infamous San Francisco Mint, which is dated all the way back to the California gold rushes, is one of those mints. This west coast-based mint was established to help prospectors turn their mined treasure into currency. In just its first year in production, the San Francisco Mint turned $4 million worth of gold into coins!