The United States was already fully engaged in World War II by the dawning days of 1942. With this, the collective national attention was focused less on luxuries and more on everyday needs, with the production of cars, boats, and other expensive goods largely directed to military needs. This was certainly the case with the production of proof coinage, which was deemed a numismatic trifle – certainly not a wartime necessity.

The year 1942 did see production of proof coins in the United States, and 1942 proof Mercury dimes aren’t patently scarce. However, high-end specimens are. Examples grading better than PR67 are rare. A few survive in PR69, and one exceptional, PCGS-graded representative of this grade commanded a stunning $37,600 at auction in 2015.

The wartime economy booming and with a need to churn out business-strike coinage for commerce needs, the US Mint produced the last proof coins the decade of the 1940s would see. This also included the last batch of Mercury dimes, a series that ended in 1945 – the year beloved President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died. His likeness appears on dimes minted since 1946.