1943 US Mercury dime reverse t-shirt
This is the reverse of one of my very favorite coins, the "Mercury" dime - her proper name is "Winged Liberty Head" dime. The design is a fascis, which is latin for "bundle," and an olive branch. Fasces were bundles of birch rods tied tightly together around an axe, which in Roman times were carried by guards before an authority figure like a judge or emperor. They literally represent the power to whip you (the rods) or kill you (the axe) for breaking the law. Fasces have a history in modern iconography, too, as symbolic of national unity and the power of the state. They appear on the French coat of arms, as well as our own Lincoln Memorial and the statue of Eternal Vigilance outside the National Archives. Most memorably, though, fasces were adopted by Benito Mussolini. His political party was called Fasci di combattimento, which evoked both the fasces and the related Italian word fascio, a labor union or political group. Basically, it meant "the war group." It's where the term "fascist" comes from. The most vulnerable part of a Mercury dime, both in minting and circulation, are the bands around the fasces. There are three horizontal and two diagonal bands binding the bundles of rods together. The center one, in pristine coins, is subtly split into two bands. This is called Full Split Band, or FSB. Only a brand new die can make one. This coin is not FSB! PERMISSIONS: The US Mint specifically allows use of the "Mercury" dime design.
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