AboutMyCoin1938-S Mercury Dime in F15
A 1938-S Mercury dime graded F15 is that coin in one particular state of preservation — the date and the mint mark are already fixed, and F15 is what a grader called the surface that survived. What that looks like on this coin is below. The nearest grade of this date this site does have a researched figure for is Very Fine (VF-20), at $7 to $18, from sales and public data.
What F15 means
A 1938-S Mercury dime in Fine (F-15) is a Fine coin at the better end of the grade: the same moderate, even wear, but the two separate lines of each horizontal band and the individual leaves of the olive branch start to show at the centres and the high points of the wing and the hair above Liberty’s ear hold more of their shape than on a coin graded twelve. The difference between the two is a judgement of degree rather than of kind, which is why they sell so close together.
A slab, a dealer’s list or a price guide may write this grade F-15. They are the same grade and the same 1938-S Mercury dime.
Where this grade sits
The grades a 1938-S Mercury dime is given run from PO1 to MS70. One step up from F15 is Very Fine (VF-20), at $7 to $18 — which is what a reader whose coin might grade a point higher is really asking. In general terms, the higher the grade the more the coin is worth.
A blank in the value column is a grade this site has not researched, not a grade the coin is worth nothing in.
How to check this yourself
Sold listings, not asking prices. The link below is already filtered to completed sales of a 1938-S Mercury dime in F15, which is the difference between what somebody paid and what somebody hoped for. Until this site has a researched figure for this grade, that search is the answer — take the middle of several recent sales rather than the highest.
The metal floor under it
$4.65
0.0723 troy oz silver × $64.38 per troy ounce
$64.38/ozt, based on spot prices at 23 September 2026 19:59 UTC
Whatever the market does, a 1938-S Mercury dime cannot be worth less than the metal in it. That figure is what the premium for F15 is measured against, and it moves with the metal price rather than with the coin market.
Where these figures come from
We gather publicly available data from several public sources including eBay, PCGS, NGC, Numista, USA Coin Book, PriceCharting, and others.
Not an appraisal. AboutMyCoin estimates from published specifications and does not authenticate or grade coins.
1938-S Mercury Dime: every grade, the metal and the specification →