Although most commonly referred to as the Mercury dime, the coin does not depict the Roman messenger god. Designed by noted sculptor Adolph A. Weinman, the Winged Liberty Head dime is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful U.S. coin designs ever produced. The composition (90 percent silver, 10 percent copper) and diameter of the Mercury dime was unchanged from the Barber dime. Weinman (who had studied under Augustus Saint-Gaudens) won a 1915 competition against two other artists for the design job. He is thought to have modeled his version of Liberty on Elsie Kachel Stevens, wife of noted poet Wallace Stevens. The reverse design, a fasces juxtaposed with an olive branch, was intended to symbolize America's readiness for war, combined with its desire for peace. The fasces would later become a symbol of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's Fascist National Party, leading some to criticize the dime's design.

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