A Brief History Of The Mercury Dime.

When it comes to collecting coins, the Mercury Dime is by far my favorite. As strange as this may seem, I find it to be the most beautiful of all coins. This graceful ten cent denomination is simple in design, yet delightful with a classical sense of elegance. In my mind, the Mercury Dime is an absolute wonder to behold. I cherish them more than any of the other American coins in my collection. Best of all, we get to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Mercury Dime in 2016.

The Mercury Dime, despite its name, does not depict the Roman God Mercury at all. The obverse of the dime bears the image of Winged Liberty, a personification of Lady Liberty herself. Atop her head rest two large wings attached to a pileus cap. As such, many people incorrectly assumed upon release that the depiction is of the Roman god Mercury, whom wears a similar hat with wings. Notwithstanding the numerous attempts by newspapers, numismatic and artistic publications of the time to push the Winged Liberty name, the Mercury label stuck. The reverse of the coin shows a fasces, which is a bundle of wooden rods lashed to a battle axe. The fasces is another callback to Roman culture, in which it represented the power of a magistrate. Its symbolism evokes the notion of strength through unity. Accompanying the fasces is a large olive branch, the embodiment of peace.

Adolph Weinman

Sculptor Adolph Weinman was the creator of the Mercury Dime's design. He submitted his design in February of 1916 (of which he also turned in a successfully accepted design for the half dollar). By September, the first batches of Mercury Dimes were provided to a handful of testing companies, chiefly pay phone and vending machine manufacturers. This was to ensure that the dimes would function in their machines. A few of the companies stated that the dimes wouldn't fit into coin slots correctly, so a slight modification was made. Along with the relief being lowered, the letters of LIBERTY on the obverse were spaced slightly farther from the edge of the coin. These changes did just the trick and the Mercury Dime went into full production by October. The first coins were sold to the public on October 30, 1916. Weinman's initials can be found on the obverse of the coin, to the right of Winged Liberty's face.

To identify which Mint a Mercury Dime was made, check for a letter to the right of the word ONE on the reverse of the coin. The letter 'S' signifies the San Francisco Mint; 'D' represents the Denver Mint. No letter means the coin was struck at the Philadelphia Mint.

Along with many other coins of the era, the Mercury Dime has a high silver content. It is a mixture of 90% silver and 10% copper. Accordingly, Mercury Dimes are worth more than face value. Your average, plentifully-minted Mercury Dime found in decent, circulated condition is worth anywhere between two and five dollars on the aftermarket. As the value of silver rises and falls, so too does the value of the Mercury Dime.

Between the years 1916 and 1945, a total of 2,677,232,488 Mercury Dimes were struck. They were in circulation during both World Wars. Of note, some years of production are quite scarce.

• 1916-D: Only 264,000 Mercury Dimes were produced at the Denver Mint in this year. This was in due part to a large order for quarters, which Denver produced in mass quantities on through 1917.
• 1921: With an economic downturn in the United States, the government produced many less coins during this year due to lack of demand. In fact, no dimes at all were minted in 1922! Just over two million dimes were made in 1921 before taking the year-long break.
• 1930-1931: During the Great Depression, demand for coins again dipped dramatically. 1932 and 1933 saw a hiatus on dime production. Less than fifteen million Mercury Dimes were made in 1930-31.

In 1945, President Franklin Roosevelt passed away. A demand for his image to grace a coin lead to his face being placed on the dime in 1946. The dime was selected because of Roosevelt's deep connection to the March of Dimes campaign. With that, production of the Mercury Dime saw its end.

The next time you're flipping through some pocket change, check and see if you can find a Mercury Dime. Though scarcely found in circulation today, they do occasionally pop up from time to time. Trust me, you'll enjoy this beautiful coin just as much as I do.

For more information on the production numbers of the Mercury Dime, visit: http://www.coinfacts.com/dimes/mercury_head_dimes.html

The Star Gate Sequence Of '2001: A Space Odyssey'.

I quickly wanted to share something with you this evening that perhaps many of you below the age of 25 have never seen before. In 1968, the sci-fi film masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey was released. Besides featuring an awesome artificially intelligent computer named HAL with murderous intentions, the movie included a mind-altering sequence that hasn't been replicated since. The astronaut Bowman, pitched into an unidentified globule of colored light, takes a journey across all boundaries of space and time. Sit back, down a beer and just relax as you watch the Star Gate sequence from 2001: A Space Odyssey. And hey, if you have seen this before, then all the better. It's just that weird!

And just what does Bowman find on the other side of his strange journey? Well, that answer is pretty damned freaky, too.

And finally, the film ends with rebirth.

Just what does it all mean? Well, that's up to your own interpretation. In my opinion, Bowman has transcended the laws of known physics and merged with the force behind the Monoliths. Before his "death", he begins to exist simultaneously at multiples points throughout his life. Ultimately, all of his selves collapse into a single being within the alien slab to become something entirely new.

Yeah... to say 2001: A Space Odyssey is mind-blowing is a massive understatement. I highly recommend that you check it out.

Pop-Up Headlights: A Love Story.

Automobiles look incredibly different today than they did in the 1980's and 1990's. Consider the 1989 Honda Accord versus its 2009 counterpart.

1989 Honda Accord

 2009 Honda Accord

Notice the difference between the two? The 2009 version is just so boring and plain. It might as well be a Toyota Corolla or a Ford Focus from the same model year. No unique styling cues. No flair. No sense of individuality. A run of the mill, mundane car. Zzzzzzzzzzz. But that 1989 Accord? It's got panache. There's no mistaking that low cut back end and sharp edges. Sure, the '89 Accord was meant for middle-management yuppies and stay-at-home moms, but at least it had some degree of personality. Most importantly, the '89 had something the '09 does not -- pop-up headlights.

1936 Cord 810

The first iteration of pop-up headlights (aka hidden headlamps) appeared on the 1936 Cord 810. You had to crank them out manually by hand! Pop-up headlights didn't enter into the common lexicon until the mid to late 1970's though, where they stayed with the auto buying public until the mid '90s.

1984 Toyota Corolla

For a good twenty years, pop-up headlights were a common sight. If you didn't drive a car featuring them, your neighbor probably did. Just some of the vehicles to include them were the Chrysler LeBaron, Pontiac Firebird and practically every car Nissan pumped out. Pop-up lamps were everywhere... and they were cool.

1989 Ford Probe

As the '90s were on their way out, laws started to change. Specifically, Europe began requiring auto manufacturers to lessen the number of physical protrusions on cars. Front-ends also needed to be more deformable. This was a measure taken to reduce the number of pedestrian deaths in automobile impacts. Since most car manufacturers operate on a global scale, these changes took place in the American market as well. Couple that with the fact that headlights were soon allowed to be made aerodynamic (as in, built into the styling of the car) on vehicles in the US and pop-up headlights went the way of the dodo bird and Amy Winehouse. The last mass-produced cars to feature pop-up lamps were the 2004 Chevy Corvette and, to a smaller degree, the Lotus Esprit. That, as they say, was that.

My first car was a Dodge Daytona. It was passed down to me from my mom and dad. Believe it or not, I really loved that car. It had personality and a certain unsuspecting charm that many vehicles lack these days. One of the best parts about it was the pop-up headlights. Not once did they ever cease to function (as some hidden headlamps were known to do). It's still legal to produce a car with pop-up headlights, so perhaps public opinion will convince auto makers to implement them once again. As of now, they're a nostalgic figment of a by-gone era when most cars had a sense of identity.

The Absurdity Of The Solid Gold Analogue Nt NES Console.

As the rising tide of retro video game enthusiasm continues to roll on, we've now reached a level where some gamers (and in this case gaming retailers) are completely misunderstanding the hobby.

Now available is the solid 24-karat gold Analogue Nt. This console is a modern update to the original Nintendo Entertainment System, using authentic refurbished hardware gutted from old NES units. It features high definition output, allowing you to play games designed for standard definition televisions in high resolution (though, you'll see absolutely ZERO improvement in the original 8-bit graphics). The standard Analogue Nt, which sells for $500, was already an exercise in pompous frivolity. And yet, Analogue found a way to ratchet up the absurdity factor even farther. The entire unit is made of solid gold and sells for $5,000. Only ten will be produced worldwide. It can play all the original Nintendo video game cartridges, as well as Japanese Famicom cartridges.

Take note -- as of the time of this writing, you can purchase a used functional NES console on websites like eBay for anywhere between $50 and $100, depending on condition.

Super fast cars. Jacked up trucks. Overpowered guns. And now, the gold Analogue Nt. What do they have in common? They're all things guys with something to prove will purchase just to show off.

This is my biggest problem with Analogue releasing overpriced consoles. I'll set aside the fact that they're harvesting perfectly good parts from original NES units and lessening their availability. That's bad enough on its own. But selling $500 (and now $5,000) game units that do exactly what the original does? That's just ridiculous. Retro gaming isn't about exclusivity and being the most expensive. The NES is all about reliving your childhood, blowing into your Ninja Gaiden cartridge and spending a few hours just having fun. Sure, the graphics aren't amazing, but they don't need to be. The Nintendo wasn't made yesterday... it's thirty years old! Of course the graphics aren't going to be amazing. That doesn't mean it's not still fun to play, though. Perhaps the question I'm left asking is...

What's so fun about spending $5,000 on a old gaming system worth $100?

Good, clean, cheap fun. Just buy one of these and save yourself $4,900.

Draw Something: The Thirsty Bottle Opener

Take your ordinary bottle opener. It looks like a thin, scrawny metal man with a giant mouth, just waiting to guzzle an ocean of bubbly beer. And yet, the bottle opener never gets to drink anything, but opens every single bottle. That must be what hell is like.

What Is Trash?

What is trash?
Leftover bits of life tossed to the wayside
Your life stacked here
Their life stacked there
Piles and piles of unwanted memories
Floating along their winding road of ruin
The debris overlaps and smothers
Broken promises and tools of lackluster skill
Refrigerators and picture frames
Electric sorcery of every kind
Cobbled together in a depressing salad
That no one wants to eat
Garbage can be a funny thing
So much of our trash isn't damaged at all
And the only thing that's broken
Turns out to be us

What's In A Name, Donkey Kong?

If you grew up in the 1980's like I did, then you probably pumped at least a handful of quarters into this game... Donkey Kong.

Starring as Jumpman, whom is later revealed to be Mario, you attempt to rescue your girlfriend Pauline from a nefarious giant ape. That massive gorilla is none other than the now world-famous Donkey Kong.

For all of my life, I've wondered... why is the ape named after a donkey?

The creator of Donkey Kong, Shigeru Miyamoto, has since provided a relatively simple explanation for the strange name. When designing the game, Miyamoto wanted to convey the simplistic nature of Kong. Hence, he named him Donkey Kong to make the character seem dimwitted. Surprisingly, Donkey Kong was originally intended to be a game featuring Popeye, Olive Oyl and Bluto, but the license was ultimately not available for use. Donkey Kong took the place of the boisterous villain Bluto, Popeye's arch-enemy.

The rest is video game history. Donkey Kong has gone on to sell more than forty million game units worldwide. In 2016, we'll celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the Donkey Kong franchise, without which Mario and all of his Mushroom Kingdom pals wouldn't exist.

You jump those barrels, Mario!