Lot 1245
1942-D, 2 over 1. PCGS graded MS-66 Full Bands. Well struck and choice. Mercury dime specialists consider the 1942/1 overdate on par with the 1916-D as the two most important key dates in the entire series. With the coveted Full Bands rating, the 1942/1 is slightly scarcer than the other overdate, the 1942/1-D. As a bonus, the 2/1 feature is much clearer on the Philadelphia Mint product. Over 300 million dimes were struck in 1942, one of the highest mintages of the denomination to that date. Two obverse dies for the Mercury dime were impressed, first with a 1941-dated hub, and then with a 1942-dated hub. One of these dies, the more dramatic of the two, was used to coin an undetermined number of 1942/1 dimes at the Philadelphia Mint, possibly early in 1942 after the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor in an effort to save high grade steel. The other hub was shipped west to the Denver Mint. By March of 1943, the Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine had published a discovery article about the overdate submitted by Arnold Kohn of Kingston, New York. Despite the relatively short amount of time before this error was discovered, and the resulting scramble by collectors to find as many examples as possible, few coins have survived in high Mint State grades such as this coin. According to Walter Breen, most Uncirculated examples of this variety are from four rolls discovered in 1954.
The present sparkling Gem has full blazing luster and presents as fully brilliant. This is an exceptional example that fortunately was sharply impressed and exhibits Full Cross Bands on the reverse, the all-important factor when considering a Mercury dime. A close examination and a strong bid is recommended for the Mercury dime specialist. Pop 13; 3 finer in 66+. (PCGS # 5041) .
Estimated Value $25,000 - 30,000.
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