1926 Dime Error List with Pictures
Two readable dates helped a double-struck 1926-S dime sell for $6,600 in August 2025. Its second blow landed about 80% off-center after a normal first strike.
These 1926 Mercury dime errors span estimated whole-coin values of $15–$9,000. They include peeling silver, missing edges, shifted strikes, and repeated lettering and wing feathers.
Read on to tell an extra strike from a repeated design already on the stamping tool.
1. 1926 Mercury Dime Lamination (Estimated Up to $150)
A thin piece of silver can lift from the face, leaving a flap or shallow rough patch. This is lamination, where the metal separates into layers.
A seller described one Philadelphia 1926 dime as both laminated and clipped at the edge. Those are two claims about the same ungraded coin, not two certified examples.
The face and edge need separate checks. A missing bite from the rim does not by itself explain a peeling patch on the picture.
The seller’s wording does not prove either cause; the silver around each flaw must support the explanation.
Estimated Value
The recorded listing asked $14 and allowed offers. It was not a completed sale.
For a circulated Philadelphia dime with genuine, modest peeling, use an estimated whole-coin range of $15–$150. A larger dramatic peel may need a different comparison.
The estimate values the reported coin once, including its edge flaw where appropriate. Do not add another full price for the same object, and do not give scratches or corrosion a peeling-metal premium.
How to Identify
Look at the face and edge separately with a magnifier. A cut at the perimeter cannot explain a thin layer lifting across the face.
Inspect the peeling boundary for a natural thin layer rather than tool scratches and pushed-up metal. Leave any attached flake untouched.
Use a scale against the normal 2.50 grams. A clip and a lost flake could both reduce weight, so the reading alone does not establish either error.
With calipers, compare intact areas with the 17.9 mm diameter and inspect the surviving edge grooves. To check the lamination claim quickly, find a thin separating layer at the face defect, independent of the missing edge.
2. 1926 Mercury Dime Clipped Planchet (Estimated Up to $350)
A curved bite at the edge can begin before the coin receives its design. The punch that cuts metal discs can overlap an earlier hole or the edge of the metal strip.
The incomplete disc then enters the press and becomes a clipped coin. A disc prepared for striking is called a planchet.
Clips are reported for 1926, including a separate seller listing that also mentions peeling on a Philadelphia dime. That label alone does not prove a genuine clip.
A later cut removes already struck design and can imitate the same outline.
Estimated Value
The year guide suggests $75–$150 for ordinary circulated curved clips. A broader estimate of $50–$350 allows for smaller gaps through clearer, lightly worn examples.
These ranges require an original incomplete disc, rather than a damaged edge. Size, condition, and a clear date affect the whole-coin value.
The seller’s $14 Philadelphia listing also mentions lamination and is an asking price. Do not add that coin’s lamination estimate to its clip estimate as though two objects were being sold.
How to Identify
Examine both ends of the gap under a magnifier before judging its curve. Look for a boundary shaped during the strike, rather than sharp tool ridges or abruptly cut lettering.
Use calipers across intact parts of the coin against the normal 17.9 mm diameter. Weigh it against 2.50 grams, allowing for wear and missing metal.
Follow the edge grooves toward the gap and inspect the opposite rim. A weak area opposite a clip can support the diagnosis, though it is not equally clear on every coin.
The quickest first check is the gap’s boundary: compare how the original struck metal meets it with a confirmed clip.
3. 1926 Mercury Dime Broadstrike (Estimated Up to $700)
The coin can spread wider while keeping the whole picture. This happens when the collar, the metal ring that limits the coin’s width, does not hold the silver during striking.
The error is called a broadstrike. Its outer area can look unusually wide, and the edge may lack the usual complete grooves.
The 1926 guide lists the type without identifying one certified coin or mint. A specific expanded measurement is therefore not assigned here.
The complete picture separates it from a strike that misses part of the metal disc.
Estimated Value
Use an estimated $200–$700 for circulated through attractive lower-grade unworn broadstrikes. The guide’s $200–$500 circulated range supplies the starting comparison.
The upper allowance favors better surfaces and a clearly expanded shape. These are estimates, without a documented 1926 broadstrike sale used here.
Full Bands is a separate rating for clear detail on the back-side band design. A high price for a normal Full Bands coin does not establish the value of a failed retaining ring.
How to Identify
Measure the width with calipers before relying on a broad-looking rim. Compare it with the normal 17.9 mm, then weigh the dime against 2.50 grams.
A broadstrike usually spreads the same silver instead of removing it. A much lower weight needs another explanation.
Use a magnifier along the outer picture and edge. Look for original striking detail where the metal spread, rather than crushed lettering and grooves from later hammering.
Check that the date, portrait, letters, and back design remain present. To identify a likely broadstrike quickly, pair an enlarged width with a complete picture and a naturally expanded edge.
4. 1926 Mercury Dime Off-Center Strike (Estimated Up to $1,500)
Part of the design is missing beside a plain crescent of silver. The metal disc sat off-center, so the stamping tools missed one part while their picture ran beyond another edge.
The 1926 guide reports this error type without identifying the San Francisco double strike discussed later. Those are different events.
A simple off-center coin received one shifted impression. The double-struck example received a normal first blow and then another blow in a different place.
A second date or overlapping back design therefore should not be assumed on every off-center dime.
Estimated Value
Estimate $150–$1,500 for readable-date examples from circulated through lower-grade unworn condition. The guide places ordinary circulated off-center pieces around $150–$400.
More dramatic displacement and better surfaces can support the upper part of the range. Mint identity also matters when comparing whole coins.
The $6,600 San Francisco sale below concerns a double strike with two dates. It is not a recorded price for a separate 1926 coin with only one shifted strike.
How to Identify
Count the visible pictures before measuring the shift. One displaced date differs from a normal first design partly covered by a second impression.
With a magnifier, follow the boundary between struck detail and the plain crescent. Check the back for the same shift; one centered face may point to a single misaligned tool instead.
Use a scale and calipers against 2.50 grams and 17.9 mm, allowing for altered shape. Inspect the plain area and edge grooves for polishing or filing.
Read the date and surviving mintmark. For the quickest distinction, check for one shifted picture on each face without overlapping remains of a normal first strike.
5. 1926 Mercury Dime Doubled Die Obverse (Estimated Up to $6,000)
The E in LIBERTY has split upper corners, and the R has an extra outline below it. Repeated folds in the cap and repeated wing feathers also run downward.
NGC records these features on the Philadelphia doubled die. That means the steel stamping tool already carried repeated detail before it struck the coin.
One blow could therefore make all the extra outlines. It did not require the coin to bounce inside the press.
The names VP-001 and FS-101 identify this same variety. NGC’s illustrated VF30 example shows that its clues can survive circulation wear.
Estimated Value
Confirmed circulated examples have an estimated whole-coin range of $2,000–$6,000. PriceCharting records report a PCGS CAC G6 at $2,495 in February 2025 and a VG8 at $2,972 in November 2025.
Those are reported marketplace transactions, not a complete auction price schedule. G6 and VG8 are heavily worn grades.
The remaining doubled detail and reliable identification matter greatly. Original surfaces and a clear match can be more useful than choosing a price from the grade number alone.
How to Identify
Use a magnifier at E and R in LIBERTY first. Find the split corners at the top of E and the extra R outline below its main shape.
Then compare the repeated cap folds and wing feathers with NGC’s photographs. The details should agree across several areas, rather than one bright letter edge.
Confirm Philadelphia by the absence of a mintmark and inspect the edge grooves. Use a scale and calipers against the normal 2.50 grams and 17.9 mm.
Flat shelf-like doubling does not reproduce this whole pattern. Start with the split E and downward R outline, then match the repeated feathers to confirm the comparison.
6. 1926-S Mercury Dime Double Strike (Estimated Up to $9,000)
Two dates remain visible on the NGC AU55 San Francisco dime. It received a normal first strike but failed to leave the press before a second blow landed about 80% off-center.
The second impression lies near twelve o’clock, or about one o’clock relative to the first picture. Part of the back-side bundle of rods was struck again too.
No other metal disc blocked that second blow. The Byers specimen photographs show the same certified coin.
Those two displaced dates identify a different event from small repeated outlines already present on a stamping tool.
Estimated Value
The NGC AU55 sold for $6,600 at Heritage on August 28, 2025. AU55 indicates light wear.
An estimated $5,000–$9,000 surrounds that recent result for a comparable double strike. The readable dates, mint identity, condition, and overlapping pictures all contribute to its value.
The price belongs to one complete San Francisco dime. It should not be split into separate prices for a normal coin and an off-center fragment or applied to a plain single-strike error.
How to Identify
Follow the two dates with a magnifier and check where the second picture overlaps the first. Keep the S mintmark associated with the original design visible.
Turn to the back and locate the partial second bundle of rods. Its position should agree with the later strike on the front.
For a sealed coin, use available measurement records rather than opening the holder for a scale or calipers. The normal silver dime standard is 2.50 grams and 17.9 mm, though this strike changes its outline.
Inspect the visible edge grooves and compare complete photographs. The quickest check is to pair the two displaced dates with the corresponding second back-side impression.
Conclusion
Estimated whole-coin values for these 1926 Mercury dime errors range from $15 to $9,000. Repeated letters and feathers come from the doubled die, while two displaced dates reveal a second strike.
The seller-reported clipped and laminated Philadelphia dime is also just one object, despite its two proposed defects. Keep those identities together when comparing prices, and use clear surfaces and matching features to separate a genuine mistake from later damage.