Upon the initial minting of the Roosevelt dime in 1946, a false narrative arose in the United States that the letters "JS" actually stood not for John Sinnock, but for Joseph Stalin. The urban folk story coincided with the Second Red Scare. The rumor surfaced again after the release of the Sinnock designed Franklin half dollar in 1948. Another controversy that surrounded the Roosevelt dime following its public release was an allegation that Sinnock copied or borrowed the design of the President's profile from a bronze bas relief created by sculptress Selma H. Burke for the dime's obverse. Sinnock denied this claim and said that the obverse portrait of the President was a composite of two studies which he made from life in 1933 and 1934.
Controversies
John R. Sinnock
John R. Sinnock | Controversies
Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context. Yes. Yes Yes
what is roosevelt dime?
user
Is the current dime, or ten-cent piece, of the United States
assistant
who designed it?
user
John R. Sinnock
assistant
who is he?
user
Eighth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint
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mention a few controversies of his?
user
The letters "JS" actually stood not for John Sinnock, but for Joseph Stalin. The urban folk story coincided with the Second Red Scare. Another controversy was an allegation that Sinnock copied or borrowed the design of the President's profile from a bronze bas relief created by sculptress Selma H. Burke
assistant
did the aforementioned mint struck the roosevelt dime?
user
Upon the initial minting of the Roosevelt dime in 1946, a false narrative arose in the United States that the letters "JS" actually stood not for John Sinnock, but for Joseph Stalin. The urban folk story coincided with the Second Red Scare. The rumor surfaced again after the release of the Sinnock designed Franklin half dollar in 1948. Another controversy that surrounded the Roosevelt dime following its public release was an allegation that Sinnock copied or borrowed the design of the President's profile from a bronze bas relief created by sculptress Selma H. Burke for the dime's obverse. Sinnock denied this claim and said that the obverse portrait of the President was a composite of two studies which he made from life in 1933 and 1934.
John R. Sinnock | Controversies
Controversy immediately ensued, as strong anti-Communist sentiment in the United States led to the circulation of rumors that the "JS" engraved on the coin was the initials of Joseph Stalin, placed there by a Soviet agent in the mint. The Mint quickly issued a statement denying this, confirming that the initials were indeed Sinnock's. The same rumor arose after the release of the Sinnock designed Franklin half dollar in April 1948. Another controversy surrounding Sinnock's design involves his image of Roosevelt. Soon after the coin's release, it was claimed that Sinnock borrowed his design of Roosevelt from a bas relief created by African American sculptor Selma Burke, unveiled at the Recorder of Deeds Building in Washington, D.C.
Dime (United States coin) | Franklin D. Roosevelt (1946–present)
coin designed by a Mint employee in more than 40 years. Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock was chosen, as he had already designed a Mint presidential medal of Roosevelt. Sinnock's first design, submitted on October 12, 1945, was rejected, but a subsequent one was accepted on January 6, 1946. The dime was released to the public on January 30, 1946, which would have been Roosevelt's 64th birthday. Sinnock's design placed his initials ("JS") at the base of Roosevelt's neck, on the coin's obverse. His reverse design elements of a torch, olive branch, and oak branch symbolized, respectively, liberty, peace, and strength.
Dime (United States coin) | Franklin D. Roosevelt (1946–present)
Despite the Mint's denial, there were rumors into the 1950s that there had been a secret deal at the Yalta Conference to honor Stalin on a U.S. coin. The controversy was given fresh life in 1948 with the posthumous release of Sinnock's Franklin half dollar, which bears his initials . Although usually more coins were struck at Philadelphia than at the other mints during the years the coin was struck in silver, only 12,450,181 were struck there in 1955, fewer than at the Denver Mint or at San Francisco. This was due to a sagging economy and a lackluster demand for coins that caused the Mint to announce in January that the San Francisco Mint would be shuttered at the end of the year.
Roosevelt dime | Production
The Roosevelt dime was first struck on January 19, 1946, at the Philadelphia Mint. It was released into circulation on January 30, which would have been President Roosevelt's 64th birthday. The planned release date had been February 5; it was moved up to coincide with the anniversary. With its debut, Sinnock became the first chief engraver to be credited with the design of a new circulating U.S. coin since those designed by Charles E. Barber were first issued in 1892. The release of the coins was a newsworthy event, and demand for the new design remained strong, although many of Roosevelt's opponents, particularly Republicans, were outraged.
Roosevelt dime | Production
There were reports of the new dime being rejected in vending machines, but no changes to the coin were made. The dime's design has not changed much in its over seventy years of production, the most significant alterations being minor changes to Roosevelt's hair and the shifting of the mint mark from reverse to obverse in the 1960s. At the time the dimes were released, relations with the USSR were deteriorating, and Sinnock's initials, , were deemed by some to refer to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, placed there by a communist sympathizer. Once these rumors reached Congress, the Mint sent out press releases debunking this myth.
Roosevelt dime | Production
He modified his design in response, and the coin went into circulation in January 1946. Since its introduction, the Roosevelt dime has been struck continuously in large numbers. The Mint transitioned from striking the coin in silver to base metal in 1965, and the design remains essentially unaltered from when Sinnock created it. Without rare dates or silver content, the dime is less widely sought by coin collectors than other modern U.S. coins.
Roosevelt dime | Introduction
Sinnock was the designer of the Roosevelt dime and Franklin half dollar, among other U.S. coins. His initials can be found at the base of the Roosevelt and Franklin busts. He also sculpted, although did not design, the Purple Heart medal, the Yangtze Service Medal, and various other medals and commemorative coins. Sinnock was born July 8, 1888, in Raton, New Mexico, and was educated at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art. He won the A.W. Mifflin Award for study abroad. Sinnock was well-traveled. His longtime confidant was Margaret Campbell who inherited much of his artwork as well as his personal collection of materials related to the development of the Roosevelt Dime.
John R. Sinnock | History
A 1956 obituary in "The New York Times" credits Marcel Sternberger with taking the photograph that Sinnock adapted for the dime. According to Van Ryzin, the passage of time has made it impossible to verify or rule out Burke's allegations.
Roosevelt dime | Design
It needs more dignity." Sinnock had submitted an alternative reverse design similar to the eventual coin, with the hand omitted and the sprigs placed on either side of the torch; Clarke preferred this. Sinnock attended a conference at the home of Lee Lawrie, sculptor member of the commission, with a view to resolving the differences, and thereafter submitted a new model for the obverse, addressing the concerns about Roosevelt's head. The Mint Director, Nellie Tayloe Ross, sent photographs to the commission, which rejected it and proposed a competition among five artists, including Adolph A. Weinman (designer of the Mercury dime and Walking Liberty half dollar) and James Earle Fraser (who had sculpted the Buffalo nickel).
Roosevelt dime | Inception and preparation
Ross declined, as the Mint was under great pressure to have the new coins ready for the March of Dimes campaign in January 1946. The new Treasury Secretary, Fred Vinson, was appealed to, but he also disliked the models and rejected them near the end of December. Sinnock swapped the positions of the date and the word , allowing an enlargement of the head. He made other changes as well; according to numismatic author Don Taxay, "Roosevelt had never looked better!"
Roosevelt dime | Inception and preparation
No congressional action was required, though the committees of each house with jurisdiction over the coinage were informed. Creating the new design was the responsibility of Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock, who had been in his position since 1925. Much of the work in preparing the new coin was done by Sinnock's assistant, later chief engraver Gilroy Roberts. In early October 1945, Sinnock submitted models to Assistant Director of the Mint F. Leland Howard (then acting as director), who transmitted them to the Commission of Fine Arts. This commission reviews coin designs because it was tasked by a 1921 executive order by President Warren G.
Roosevelt dime | Inception and preparation
She advocated for this position until her death in 1994, and persuaded a number of numismatists and politicians, including Roosevelt's son James. Numismatists who support her point to the fact that Sinnock took his depiction of the Liberty Bell, which appears on the 1926 Sesquicentennial half dollar and Franklin half dollar (1948–1963), from another designer without giving credit. However, Robert R. Van Ryzin, in his book on mysteries about U.S. coins, pointed out that Sinnock had sketched Roosevelt from life in 1933 for his first presidential medal (designed by Sinnock), and accounts from the time of issuance of the dime state that Sinnock used those, as well as photographs of the president, to prepare the dime.
Roosevelt dime | Design
The new half dollars first went on sale at noon on April 30, 1948, the anniversary of George Washington's 1789 inauguration as President. They were sold from a booth on the steps of the Sub-Treasury Building in New York, by employees of the Franklin Savings Bank dressed in Revolutionary-era garb. The Roosevelt dime had been designed by Sinnock, and had provoked complaints by citizens viewing Sinnock's initials "JS" on the coin as those of Joseph Stalin, placed there by some Kremlin infiltrator within the Mint. Even though Sinnock's initials (placed on the cutoff of Franklin's bust) were expressed "JRS", the Mint still received similar complaints, to which they responded with what numismatic historian Walter Breen termed "outraged official denials".
Franklin half dollar | Release and production
in September 1945. Sinnock denied this and stated that he simply utilized his earlier design on the Roosevelt medal.
Dime (United States coin) | Franklin D. Roosevelt (1946–present)
The Roosevelt dime is the current dime, or ten-cent piece, of the United States. Struck by the United States Mint continuously since 1946, it displays President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the obverse and was authorized soon after his death in 1945. Roosevelt had been stricken with polio, and was one of the moving forces of the March of Dimes. The ten-cent coin could be changed by the Mint without the need for congressional action, and officials moved quickly to replace the Mercury dime. Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock prepared models, but faced repeated criticism from the Commission of Fine Arts.
Roosevelt dime | Introduction
In 1947, she instructed her chief engraver, John R. Sinnock, to prepare designs for a Franklin half dollar. Sinnock's designs were based on his earlier work, but he died before their completion. The designs were completed by Sinnock's successor, Gilroy Roberts. The Mint submitted the new designs to the Commission of Fine Arts ("Commission") for its advisory opinion. The Commission disliked the small eagle and felt that depicting the crack in the Liberty Bell would expose the coinage to jokes and ridicule. Despite the Commission's disapproval, the Mint proceeded with Sinnock's designs. After the coins were released in April 1948, the Mint received accusations that Sinnock's initials "JRS" on the cutoff at Franklin's shoulder were a tribute to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin (Stalin did not have a middle name that began with an 'R').
Franklin half dollar | Introduction
She told him to sit still and he did." The 3.5-by-2.5-foot plaque was completed in 1944 and unveiled by President Harry S. Truman in September 1945 at the Recorder of Deeds Building in Washington, D.C., where it still hangs today. It is widely accepted that John R. Sinnock's obverse design on the Roosevelt dime was adapted from Burke's plaque. Sinnock later denied that Burke's portrait was an influence.
Selma Burke | Portrait of F.D.R
No change was made, with the Mint responding that the letters were simply the artist's initials (The same accusation was made after the release of the Sinnock designed Roosevelt Dime in 1946). The coin was struck regularly until 1963. Beginning in 1964 it was replaced by the Kennedy half dollar, issued in honor of the assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Though the coin is still legal tender, its value to collectors or as silver (bullion value) both greatly exceed its face value.
Franklin half dollar | Introduction
The obverse of the dime depicts President Roosevelt, with the inscriptions and . Sinnock's initials, , are found by the cutoff of the bust, to the left of the date. The reverse shows a torch in the center, representing liberty, flanked by an olive sprig representing peace, and one of oak symbolizing strength and independence. The inscription (out of many, one) stretches across the field. The name of the country and the value of the coin are the legends that surround the reverse design, which is symbolic of the victorious end of World War II. Numismatist Mark Benvenuto suggested that the image of Roosevelt on the coin is more natural than other such presidential portraits, resembling that on an art medal.
Roosevelt dime | Design
Harding with rendering advisory opinions on public artworks. The models initially submitted by Sinnock showed a bust of Roosevelt on the obverse and, on the reverse, a hand grasping a torch, and also clutching sprigs of olive and oak. Sinnock had prepared several other sketches for the reverse, including one flanking the torch with scrolls inscribed with the Four Freedoms. Other drafts showed representations of the goddess Liberty, and one commemorated the United Nations Conference of 1945, displaying the War Memorial Opera House where it took place. Numismatist David Lange described most of the alternative designs as "weak". The models were sent on October 12 by Howard to Gilmore Clarke, chairman of the commission, who consulted with its members and responded on the 22nd, rejecting them, stating that "the head of the late President Roosevelt, as portrayed by the models, is not good.
Roosevelt dime | Inception and preparation
With the fair flirting with insolvency throughout its run, officials hoped the planned visit of President Warren Harding on August 6 would increase gate receipts, but Harding fell ill in San Francisco and died on August 2. According to Pike in his article, "its effect on the industry [was] hard to measure. However, if Hollywood owes its current status in any way to the event, then it was quite a success indeed." Approximately 27,000 half dollars were sold at the price of $1, by mail, at banks, and at the fair. Sales continued after it closed, but by October 1923, they had dropped off to almost nothing, and the banks holding them released the remaining nine-tenths of the mintage into circulation, which accounts for the wear on most surviving specimens.
Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar | Distribution and collecting
Preparations for the striking proceeded at a reluctant Mint Bureau. Some working dies had survived Sinnock's 1937 destruction order, but were found to be in poor condition, and Mint Assistant Engraver (later Chief Engraver) Frank Gasparro was authorized to produce new ones. Mint officials had also considered using the Morgan Dollar design; this idea was dropped and Gasparro replicated the Peace dollar dies. The reverse dies all bore Denver mintmarks; as the coins were slated for circulation in the West, it was deemed logical to strike them nearby. Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon was opposed to restriking the Peace dollar and in early 1965 informed President Lyndon Johnson that such coins would be unlikely to circulate in Montana, nor anywhere else; they would simply be hoarded.
Peace dollar | Striking of 1964-D Peace dollars
Walter Breen, in his comprehensive volume on U.S. coins, argued that "the new design was ... no improvement at all on Weinman's [Mercury dime] except for eliminating the fasces [on its reverse] and making the vegetation more recognizably an olive branch for peace." Art historian Cornelius Vermeule called the Roosevelt dime "a clean, satisfying and modestly stylish, no-nonsense coin that in total view comes forth with notes of grandeur". Some, at the time of design and since, have seen similarities between the dime and a plaque depicting Roosevelt sculpted by African-American sculptor Selma Burke, unveiled in September 1945, which is in the Recorder of Deeds Building in Washington; Burke was among those alleging her work was used by Sinnock to create the dime.
Roosevelt dime | Design
During the war, the Mint contemplated adding one or more new denominations of coinage; Sinnock prepared a Franklin design in anticipation of a new issue, which did not occur. The dime was redesigned in 1946 to depict fallen President Franklin Roosevelt, who had been closely associated with the March of Dimes. The Walking Liberty design seemed old-fashioned to Mint officials, and the only other coin being struck which was eligible for replacement was the Lincoln cent. Abraham Lincoln remained a beloved figure, and Ross did not want to be responsible for removing him from the coinage. In 1947, Ross asked Sinnock to produce a design for a half dollar featuring Franklin.
Franklin half dollar | Background and selection
Due to the large numbers struck, few regular-issue Roosevelt dimes command a premium, and the series has received relatively little attention from collectors. Only clad coins remain in circulation: prominent among these are the dimes struck at Philadelphia in 1982 erroneously minted and released without the mint mark "P"; these may sell for $50 to $75. As no official mint sets were issued in 1982 or 1983, even ordinary dimes of those years from Philadelphia or Denver in pristine condition command a significant premium (worn ones do not). Far more expensive are the dimes erroneously issued in proof condition in 1970, 1975 and 1983 that lack the "S" mint mark.
Roosevelt dime | Collecting
According to "The New York Times", "People wrote in demanding to know how the Bureau of the Mint had discovered that Joe Stalin had a middle name." Another rumor was that the small "o" in "of" was an error, and that the coins would be recalled. This claim died more quickly than the Stalin rumor.
Franklin half dollar | Release and production
John Ray Sinnock (July 8, 1888 – May 14, 1947) was the eighth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1925 to 1947.
John R. Sinnock | Introduction
For the quarter eagle obverse, with its figure of a robed Liberty standing on a globe, Vermeule suggested that Sinnock "revert[ed] in part to the allegorical iconography of the nineteenth century." He felt that the Liberty allegory is too blatant, with scroll and torch, and noted that Sinnock eventually found a more proper place for his torch on the Roosevelt dime (1946). The figure itself, despite classical robes, "looks more like a 'flapper' of the 1920s. Her cloth cap accentuates this," according to Vermeule. The reverse, in Vermeule's view, was part of a tradition of realistic views of structures on U.S coins that would repeat itself with the Jefferson nickel (1938).
United States Sesquicentennial coinage | Design
Soon after the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, legislation was introduced by Virginia Congressman Ralph H. Daughton that called for the replacement of the Mercury dime with one bearing Roosevelt's image. The dime was chosen to honor Roosevelt partly due to his efforts in the founding of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (later renamed the March of Dimes), which originally raised money for polio research and to aid victims of the disease and their families. Due to the limited amount of time available to design the new coin, the Roosevelt dime was the first regular-issue U.S.
Dime (United States coin) | Franklin D. Roosevelt (1946–present)
Approximately 90 percent of the letters received by Stuart Mosher, editor of "The Numismatist" (the journal of the American Numismatic Association), were supportive of the change, but he himself was not, arguing that the Mercury design was beautiful and that the limited space on the dime would not do justice to Roosevelt; he advocated a commemorative silver dollar instead. Others objected that despite his merits, Roosevelt had not earned a place alongside Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln, the only presidents honored on the circulating coinage to that point. As the Mercury design, first coined in 1916, had been struck for at least 25 years, it could be changed under the law by the Bureau of the Mint.
Roosevelt dime | Inception and preparation
President Franklin D. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, after leading the United States through much of the Great Depression and World War II. Roosevelt had suffered from polio since 1921 and had helped found and strongly supported the March of Dimes to fight that crippling disease, so the ten-cent piece was an obvious way of honoring a president popular for his war leadership. On May 3, Louisiana Representative James Hobson Morrison introduced a bill for a Roosevelt dime. On May 17, Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. announced that the Mercury dime (also known as the Winged Liberty dime) would be replaced by a new coin depicting Roosevelt, to go into circulation about the end of the year.
Roosevelt dime | Inception and preparation
On May 18, 1893 he was nominated by President Grover Cleveland to serve as Superintendent of the United States Mint at San Francisco, a position he held until 1897. Daggett is associated with the rare 1894-S Barber dime. One version of the story indicates that the 24 coins were struck June 9, 1894 to provide a balance of two dollars and forty cents needed to close a bullion account at the Mint June 30, 1894. It was anticipated that more dimes would be struck that year, albeit two or three pieces were obtained by Mint employees eager to have a new dime (with two or three going to Chief Coiner Charles Gorham).
John Daggett | Superintendent of the San Francisco Mint
The 1955 dimes from the three facilities are the lowest mintages by date and mint mark among circulating coins in the series, but are not rare, as collectors stored them away in rolls of 50.
Roosevelt dime | Production
Ross undertook a heavy travel schedule, visiting Mint facilities, making speeches backing Roosevelt, and campaigning for Democratic candidates in Wyoming. This left O'Reilly running the Washington office as acting director. The two women carried on a businesslike but warm correspondence during these times, with O'Reilly writing to Ross (who had embarked on a tour of the mints) "I am so anxious to have your mind at ease about the office here [in Washington] that I have resorted to rather frequent telegrams. They are so much more direct and up to date than letters ... my love to you and every good wish for the success of your visits to our beloved mint institutions." Scheer suggests that O'Reilly would have found Ross's reports from the field valuable; they showed how the Mint recovered from the initial years of the Depression, when relatively few coins were produced, to the mid-1930s, when strong demand for coinage led the bureau to run the mints with two or even three shifts.
Mary Margaret O'Reilly | Roosevelt administration and retirement
The composition of Roosevelt dimes from 1946-1964 was 90% silver and 10% copper, and the coin weighs 2.50 grams. Following the steps listed above, the ASW calculation proceeds as follows: Thus, a general circulation Roosevelt dime minted before 1965 has an actual silver weight (ASW) of 0.072339075 troy ounce. If the spot price of silver was $15.00 per troy ounce, the intrinsic value of a pre-1965 Roosevelt dime would be: 0.072339075 × 15.00 = $1.085086125 ≈ $1.09. (Note that coin stores, pawn shops, and bullion retailers will not necessarily purchase coins from consumers at the intrinsic value because of the costs involved with selling such coins to companies that melt the coins, separate the constituent metals, and prepare the silver for resale.)
Actual silver weight | Example
Saint-Gaudens was by then in declining health; he died on , 1907, without having submitted another design for the cent. With the redesign of the four gold denominations completed by 1908, Roosevelt turned his attention to the cent. The centennial of the birth of assassinated president Abraham Lincoln would occur in , and large numbers of privately manufactured souvenirs were already being issued. Many citizens had written to the Treasury Department, proposing a Lincoln coin, and Roosevelt was interested in honoring his fellow Republican. This was a break with previous American numismatic tradition; before the Lincoln cent, no regularly circulating U.S.
Lincoln cent | Inception
In May 1969, the Treasury sought authorization to eliminate the half dollar's silver content, changing it to the same copper-nickel clad composition as the dime and quarter. The Treasury also sought approval to strike copper-nickel clad one dollar coins, which would fill a need for gaming tokens in Western casinos. Former president Dwight D. Eisenhower had died recently, and there was discussion of placing Eisenhower's likeness on the new dollar. The Treasury hoped that with the removal of the silver content, the dollar coin would cease to be hoarded and again circulate. Despite the support of President Richard Nixon, some Republicans in the House of Representatives initially scuttled the legislation, disliking the idea of depicting Eisenhower on a base metal coin.
Kennedy half dollar | Switch to base metal
In 1947, Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross asked Engraver Sinnock to produce a design for a half dollar featuring Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. Ross had long been an admirer of Franklin, and wanted to see him on a coin. Mint officials had considered putting Franklin on the dime in 1941, but the project was shelved owing to heavy demands on the Mint for coins as the United States entered World War II. During the war, the Mint contemplated adding one or more new denominations of coinage; Sinnock prepared a Franklin design in anticipation of a new issue, which did not occur.
Walking Liberty half dollar | Replacement and design reuse
The balance were placed in coin bags, destined for circulation. Another story goes that Daggett had 24 dimes struck as a special request for some visiting bankers. According to daughter Hallie as recounted much later, her father presented three coins each to seven people, with the remaining three given to her with instructions to save them until she was as old as he was, at which time she would be able to sell them for a good price. Apparently she spent one coin on ice cream on the way home; this now well-worn coin is said to have sold for $2.40 in Gimbel's department store in New York City in 1957 and it sold for $34,100 at auction in 1981.
John Daggett | Superintendent of the San Francisco Mint
Within hours of the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Mint Director Eva Adams called Chief Engraver Gilroy Roberts, informing him that serious consideration was already being given to depicting Kennedy on one of the larger silver coins: either the silver dollar, half dollar, or quarter dollar. Adams called Roberts again on November 27 and authorized the project, stating that the late president's widow, Jacqueline Kennedy preferred that he be depicted on the half dollar, replacing the previous design of Benjamin Franklin. Mrs. Kennedy's reasoning was that she did not want to replace George Washington on the quarter.
Kennedy half dollar | Inception
At the 1974 meeting, one copper-nickel Eisenhower dollar was discovered which weighed below specification; after reference to the rules, the coin was deemed barely within guidelines. Numismatist Charles Logan, in his 1979 article about the impending end of the Assay Commission, stated that this incident pointed out "the basic problem with the annual trial. First, the members were not exactly sure how their job was done, or what the requirements were. Second, they really did not want to report a fault in the coinage. Finally, even if the one dollar coin had been found faulty, [it would have had] little consequence, except to prompt greater vigilance at the Mint." In early 1977, outgoing Mint Director Mary Brooks sent a list of 117 nominees to the new president, Jimmy Carter, from which it was expected that about two or three dozen names would be selected.
United States Assay Commission | Final years and abolition (1950–1980)
However, the Mint continued to strike the Liberty Head nickel in large numbers through the first decade of the 20th century. President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904 expressed his dissatisfaction with the artistic state of the American coinage, and hoped to hire sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to redesign all the coins. Constrained by the 1890 act, the Mint only hired Saint-Gaudens to redesign the cent and the four gold pieces. Saint-Gaudens, before his 1907 death, designed the eagle and double eagle, which entered circulation that year; the cent, quarter eagle, and half eagle were designed by other artists and released into circulation by 1909.
Buffalo nickel | Background
In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt complained to his Secretary of the Treasury, Leslie M. Shaw, about the designs on American coinage, and enquired if a sculptor such as the President's friend, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, could be hired to provide beautiful, up-to-date designs. The following year, the Mint hired Saint-Gaudens to create new designs for the four gold pieces then being struck, as well as the cent. Other commissions delayed him, and as he became more ill with the cancer that would kill him, his work slowed. Chief Engraver Barber repeatedly objected to the design Saint-Gaudens finally submitted, which shows Liberty striding across a rocky outcrop, on the grounds that its relief was too high.
Liberty Head double eagle | Replacement
coin had featured an actual person (as opposed to idealized personifications, as of "liberty"). Many writers had suggested a Lincoln half dollar, but that coin's design had been changed in 1892 and could not yet be altered without congressional approval. By then a lame duck in office, Roosevelt was reluctant to involve Congress. In late 1908, Roosevelt sat for sculptor Victor David Brenner, who was designing a medal for the Panama Canal Commission. While the contents of their conversations were never recorded, it appears they discussed Roosevelt's plans for coinage redesign. Roosevelt had admired a 1907 plaque of Lincoln which the artist had produced.
Lincoln cent | Inception
He even ordered changes made in the minting of a coin whose design he disliked, and ordered the Government Printing Office to adopt simplified spellings for a core list of 300 words, according to reformers on the Simplified Spelling Board. He was forced to rescind the latter after substantial ridicule from the press and a resolution of protest from the House of Representatives.
Theodore Roosevelt | Trust busting and regulation
The Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar was a fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint. Bearing portraits of former U.S. Presidents James Monroe and John Quincy Adams, the coin was issued in commemoration of the centennial of the Monroe Doctrine and was produced at the San Francisco Mint in 1923. Sculptor Chester Beach is credited with the design, although the reverse closely resembles an earlier work by Raphael Beck. In 1922, the motion picture industry was faced with a number of scandals, including manslaughter charges against star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. Although Arbuckle was eventually acquitted, motion picture executives sought ways of getting good publicity for Hollywood.
Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar | Introduction
The serifs are missing on all 1972-S, both uncirculated and proof. After the Mint obtained better steel for dies, the serifs returned for all of the remaining non-Bicentennial coinage, from all mints, though the leg of the R was shortened, and also for the Type II Bicentennial (the Type I lacks serifs on the R). Gasparro was often trying to improve the detail of Eisenhower's head during the coin's tenure, and as the R is the letter closest to it, these changes were most likely made in an effort to improve the flow of metal as the coins were struck.
Eisenhower dollar | Collecting
Hoffecker hoped to lower the number, urging the sculptor to lobby for a decrease. Hoffecker noted it would be much more work to sell 25,000, and they could not command as high a price. There were a large number of commemorative coin bills in Congress in 1936, and the dealer feared that President Franklin D. Roosevelt would start vetoing them. Hoffecker visited Washington twice more in May, once meeting Rovelstad there, where they lobbied members of Congress. The bill finally passed, and was signed by President Roosevelt on June 16, 1936. The bill required the coins to be struck at a single mint and to bear the date "1936" regardless of when they were struck.
Elgin, Illinois, Centennial half dollar | Preparation
The small eagle on the reverse was added as an afterthought, when Mint officials realized that the Coinage Act of 1873 required one to be displayed on all coins of greater value than the dime. The Mint sought comments on the designs from the Commission of Fine Arts, which was provided with a lead striking of the obverse and a view of the reverse; Taxay suggests they were shown a plaster model. On December 1, 1947, Commission chairman Gilmore Clarke wrote to Ross saying that they had no objection to the obverse, in which they recognized Sinnock's "good workmanship". As for the reverse,
Franklin half dollar | Background and selection
No commemorative coins were struck during the remainder of the Hoover Administration. They resumed after Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated, but by 1935 Roosevelt was citing Hoover's veto in urging Congress to avoid passing commemorative coin bills. He vetoed one in 1938. In 1946, Harry S. Truman adopted similar arguments in warning he would oppose further coin bills, and he vetoed one in 1947. Dwight D. Eisenhower vetoed three more in 1954. No non-circulating commemorative coins were struck from 1955 until after the Treasury Department changed its position in 1981.
Gadsden Purchase half dollar | Introduction
The chief engraver adapted his earlier work for the obverse. He had designed the medal from a bust of Franklin by Jean-Antoine Houdon. Sinnock based his design for the reverse on the 1926 commemorative half dollar for the sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) of American Independence. Numismatic writer Don Taxay later discovered that Sinnock had based his Liberty Bell (as depicted on both the Sesquicentennial half dollar and the Franklin half) on a sketch by John Frederick Lewis. Sinnock died in May 1947, before finishing the reverse design, which was completed by the new chief engraver, Gilroy Roberts. Similar to Sinnock's work for the Roosevelt dime, the portrait is designed along simple lines, with Franklin depicted wearing a period suit.
Franklin half dollar | Background and selection
Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross had long been an admirer of Benjamin Franklin, and wished to see him on a coin. In 1933, Sinnock had designed a medal featuring Franklin, which may have given her the idea. Franklin had opposed putting portraits on coins; he advocated proverbs about which the holder could profit through reflection. In a 1948 interview, Ross noted that Franklin only knew of living royalty on coins, and presumably would feel differently about a republic honoring a deceased founder. Indeed, Franklin might have been more upset at the reverse design: as numismatic writer Jonathan Tepper noted, "Had Benjamin Franklin known that he would be appearing on a half dollar with an eagle, he most likely would have been quite upset.
Franklin half dollar | Background and selection
In 1904, US President Theodore Roosevelt complained about the artistic quality of American coinage to his Secretary of the Treasury, Leslie Mortier Shaw, and asked if it were possible to hire a private sculptor such as the President's friend Augustus Saint-Gaudens to give modern, artistic designs to US coins. At Roosevelt's instigation, Shaw had the Mint (part of the Department of the Treasury) hire Saint-Gaudens to redesign five denominations of US coinage that could be changed without an Act of Congress: the cent and the four gold pieces (the quarter eagle, half eagle, eagle and double eagle). By the Mint Act of 1792, an "eagle" was made equivalent to ten dollars.
Indian Head gold pieces | Inception
On May 24, one day before a hastily called congressional hearing, Adams announced that the pieces were deemed trial strikes, never intended for circulation. The Mint later stated that 316,076 pieces had been struck; all were reported melted amid heavy security. To ensure that there would be no repetition, Congress inserted a provision in the Coinage Act of 1965 forbidding the coinage of silver dollars for five years. That act also removed silver from the dime and quarter, and reduced the silver content of the half dollar to 40%.
Eisenhower dollar | Background
Roosevelt, who considered Lincoln the savior of the Union, the greatest Republican President and also considered himself Lincoln's political heir, ordered the new Lincoln penny to be based on Brenner's work and that it be produced to commemorate Lincoln's 100th birthday in 1909. The likeness of President Lincoln on the obverse of the coin is an adaptation of a plaque Brenner executed several years earlier and which had come to the attention of President Roosevelt in New York. Bronze bas-reliefs dated 1907 and signed by Brenner have been identified and some sold in auctions for as much as $3,900.
Victor David Brenner | Lincoln cent
Nevertheless, Dillon concluded that as Senator Mansfield insisted, they would have to be struck. Dillon resigned on April 1; his successor, Henry H. Fowler, was immediately questioned by Mansfield about the dollars, and he assured the senator that things would be worked out to his satisfaction. Mint Director Eva Adams was also against striking the silver dollars, but hoped to keep the $600,000 appropriated for that expense. Senator Mansfield refused to consider any cancellation or delay and on May 12, 1965, the Denver Mint began trial strikes of the 1964-D Peace dollar—the Mint had obtained congressional authorization to continue striking 1964-dated coins into 1965.
Peace dollar | Striking of 1964-D Peace dollars
... Eisenhower, for one, considered reports like this to be the stuff of 'dime novels.'"
Kermit Roosevelt Jr. | Countercoup
One of only two known from 1975 sold at auction in 2011 for $349,600.
Roosevelt dime | Collecting
In 1946, the Treasury replaced the Mercury dime with a piece depicting the recently deceased president, Franklin Roosevelt, who had been closely associated with the March of Dimes. With the Lincoln cent popular and politically inexpedient to replace, the half dollar was the only piece being struck which was available for redesign without congressional permission. The Treasury approved the new design. Although Sinnock died before the coin was issued, the Franklin half dollar went into production at the start of 1948, ending the Walking Liberty series. A total of 485,320,340 Walking Liberty half dollars were struck. Since 1986, Weinman's obverse design has been used as the obverse design for the American Silver Eagle bullion coin.
Walking Liberty half dollar | Replacement and design reuse
Brenner wrote in return, "I shall take it out and put it in small letters on the reverse." On March 4, 1909, the day on which Roosevelt left office, replaced by William Howard Taft, Brenner met with Mint Engraver Charles E. Barber in Philadelphia. Barber had written to Leach, suggesting that Brenner's designs would have to be modified to be suitable for coinage. On , Brenner wrote to Leach stating that Barber seemed in no hurry to have the new coins produced. Brenner also complained that the Mint was losing detail as it reduced the large models to coin-sized hubs.
Lincoln cent | Design
Philadelphia numismatist Samuel Chapman wrote to Roosevelt in early December to criticize the new coins. The indentations in the new coins would harbor dirt and germs, Chapman argued; the coins could be easily counterfeited by carving a disc of metal. They could not adequately stack, and they were in any event not handsome, with the Indian "emaciated". According to numismatic historian Roger Burdette, "Chapman's letter caused some consternation at the White House". The President prepared a reply in which he expressed himself strongly to Chapman, but Bigelow persuaded him to substitute a milder letter over Bigelow's signature, defending the new coins.
Indian Head gold pieces | Production, circulation, and collecting
However, Brown had been a Mint employee in 1913, and many numismatic historians have concluded that he may have struck them himself (or had them struck) and taken them from the Mint. If true, this was not a unique occurrence; such clandestine strikes were quite common in the 19th century, with the Class II and III 1804 silver dollars perhaps the best-known instance. Other numismatic authorities, such as Q. David Bowers, have questioned this scenario, and pointed out that there are several methods by which the coins could have been legitimately produced; e.g., they may have been lawfully issued by the Mint's Medal Department "for cabinet purposes," or could have been struck as trial pieces in late 1912 to test the following year's new coinage dies.
1913 Liberty Head nickel | Origin
The centenary of the birth of assassinated president Abraham Lincoln would occur in February 1909, and large numbers of privately manufactured souvenirs were already being issued. Many citizens had written to the Treasury Department, proposing a Lincoln coin, and Roosevelt was interested in honoring his fellow Republican. This was a break with previous American numismatic tradition; before the Lincoln cent, no regularly circulating U.S. coin had featured an actual person (as opposed to idealized personifications, as of "liberty"). In late 1908, Roosevelt sat for sculptor Victor David Brenner, who was designing a medal for the Panama Canal Commission. It is uncertain how Brenner was selected to design the coin, but in January 1909, Mint Director Frank A.
Indian Head cent | Replacement
A dime featuring the W mint mark (West Point Mint) was included in the 1996 Mint Set to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Roosevelt dime. The coin was not issued for circulation.
United States Mint Set | 1968–2004 Mint Sets
The designs of those pieces had remained unchanged for more than 25 years, and they could be changed without an act of Congress. In 1905, Mint Engraver Charles E. Barber engraved the obverse of Roosevelt's inauguration medal, while his assistant George T. Morgan engraved the reverse. Roosevelt disliked the work and engaged Saint-Gaudens to design an unofficial medal commemorating the inauguration. Saint-Gaudens foresaw resistance from Barber on the question of the new coinage; he wrote to his brother Louis, "Barber is a S.O.A.B. [son of a bitch] but I had a talk with the President who ordered Secretary Shaw in my presence to cut Barber's head off if he didn't do our bidding".
Indian Head eagle | Inception
They were received by December 23, and were almost certainly destroyed routinely by early January. Brown had been an employee at the Philadelphia Mint (although this was not known until 1963) and many theories focus suspicion on him.
Nickel (United States coin) | 1913 Liberty Head nickel rarity
In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt wrote to Secretary of the Treasury Leslie Mortier Shaw complaining that U.S. coinage lacked artistic merit. He suggested that the treasury engage a private artist to prepare new coin designs, such as sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. At Roosevelt's direction, the Mint hired Saint-Gaudens to redesign the cent and the four gold pieces: the double eagle ($20), eagle ($10), half eagle ($5), and quarter eagle ($2.50). The Liberty Head design had been first struck for the eagle in 1838; the last addition to the Liberty Head gold series was the double eagle, first struck for circulation in 1850.
Indian Head eagle | Inception
After the first shot, Cross and others grabbed his arm, and he fired four more shots wildly. Five people were hit: Mrs. Joseph H. Gill (seriously wounded); Miss Margaret Kruis of Newark, N.J.; New York Detective/Bodyguard William Sinnott; Russell Caldwell of Miami; and Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak, who was standing on the running board of the car next to Roosevelt. Roosevelt, the intended target, was unharmed. Roosevelt cradled Cermak in his arms as the car rushed to the hospital; after arriving there, Cermak spoke to Roosevelt and allegedly uttered the line that is engraved on his tomb: "I'm glad it was me, not you." The "Tribune" reported the quote without attributing it to a witness, and most scholars doubt it was ever said.
Giuseppe Zangara | Assassination attempt
O'Reilly saw another political appointee with no experience at the Mint Bureau replacing Grant, who had been Denver Mint superintendent before his directorship. After a brief period, the two women came to appreciate each other's merits. Among the issues that the Mint Bureau had to face in 1933 and 1934 was the calling-in of most gold coins. When the Treasury Department issued regulations allowing such coins to be surrendered at branches of the Federal Reserve Bank, O'Reilly sent out a memorandum over her signature as acting director noting that the Fed had no facilities to accept any gold other than bars with a government stamp.
Mary Margaret O'Reilly | Roosevelt administration and retirement
Soon after, New Jersey Representative Florence Dwyer, like Eisenhower, a Republican, suggested that the proposed dollar coin bear his likeness. She spoke to Democratic Missouri Representative Leonor Sullivan, who agreed that the dollar should bear a portrait of Eisenhower as "equal time" to the half dollar, which bore the likeness of Democratic president John F. Kennedy. A bill was filed by Connecticut Congressman Robert N. Giaimo to authorize an Eisenhower dollar, to be struck without silver content. The Joint Commission on the Coinage, drawing members from the administration and from Congress, including Giaimo, recommended the dollar in spring 1969. It also called for the elimination of silver from the half dollar, and for the transfer from the Treasury to the General Services Administration (GSA) of quantities of rare silver dollars, so they could be sold.
Eisenhower dollar | Inception
However, problems began to arise from the mintage. Freshly minted, they were often mistaken for dimes. Magnets in vending machines (which took copper cents) placed to pick up steel slugs also picked up the legitimate steel cents. Because the galvanization process did not cover the edges of the coins, sweat would quickly rust the metal. After public outcry, the Mint developed a process whereby salvaged brass shell casings were augmented with pure copper to produce an alloy close to the 1941–42 composition. This was used for 1944–46-dated cents, after which the prewar composition was resumed. Although they continued to circulate into the 1960s, the mint collected large numbers of the 1943 cents and destroyed them.
1943 steel cent | History
The problem was found on the pattern half dollars as well. On , von Engelken wrote to Assistant Secretary Malburn, using information that Burdette suggests came from Barber: Von Engelken's letter caused concern in the Secretary's office—McAdoo feared that if the Mint proved unable to successfully issue new coins, the Republicans might exploit the failure as an issue in the presidential race. The Secretary enquired how long it would take "our Mr. Barber" to produce new designs; after consultation with officials at the Philadelphia Mint, von Engelken replied that it would take six to eight months. The two officials decided that Weinman must be asked to modify his design for the half dollar—it was hoped that if Weinman shrank the figure of Liberty, and lowered the relief, the piece would prove coinable.
Walking Liberty half dollar | Modification
The result was a "run" on the Treasury's gold reserves which was one of the many reasons for the Panic of 1893 and the onset of the 1890s Depression. Once he regained power, and after the Panic of 1893 had begun, Grover Cleveland engineered the repeal of the Act, setting the stage for the key issue of the next presidential election.
Free silver | Response
Circulation strikes: Uncirculated silver: Proof:
Eisenhower dollar | Mintage figures
Baker had left Washington to visit the San Francisco Mint, a transcontinental journey of three days. Acting Mint Director Mary Margaret O'Reilly sent him a telegram on December 23, urgently seeking his approval to remove the sword from the reverse, as had been recommended by Moore and Fraser at a meeting the previous afternoon. Due to the tight timeline for 1921 strikings of the dollar, it was not possible to await Baker's response, so on the authority of Treasury Undersecretary Seymour Parker Gilbert, who was approached by O'Reilly, the Mint proceeded with the redesign. To satisfy Harding's executive order, the Fine Arts Commission quickly approved the change, and by the time Baker wired his approval on December 24, without being able to see the revisions, Gilbert had already approved the revised design in Secretary Mellon's absence.
Peace dollar | Controversy
For specialty collectors this 1939 die change also created two varieties for all three mints and proof strikings that year, the "Reverse of 1938" and the "Reverse of 1940", the latter being more common for Philadelphia, scarcer for the other two mints. A 1940 proof with the 1938 reverse has also been discovered. With the entry of the United States into World War II, nickel became a critical war material, and the Mint sought to reduce its use of the metal. On March 27, 1942, Congress authorized a nickel made of 50% copper and 50% silver, but gave the Mint the authority to vary the proportions, or add other metals, in the public interest.
Jefferson nickel | 1938–1945: Early minting; World War II changes
Ross' tenure saw the Mint in 1944 investigate how several 1933 double eagles, never officially released, had come onto the market. She is known for establishing the Franklin half dollar and starting the making of proof coins for public sale. Ross served five full terms until her retirement in 1953 and was succeeded by William H. Brett, whom President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated in 1954.
Nellie Tayloe Ross | Legacy
For ten years Sinnock was an art instructor at both his alma mater and at Western Reserve University. He was appointed Assistant Engraver and Medallist at the Philadelphia Mint in 1917 before becoming the Chief Engraver in 1925.
John R. Sinnock | History
The Roosevelt dime was issued on January 30, 1946.
Paralytic illness of Franklin D. Roosevelt | March of Dimes
According to David Bullowa in his 1938 volume on commemoratives, "with the vetoing of the Gadsden Purchase half-dollar proposal ... a statement was issued that commemorative coins were superfluous and that their purpose might be as well accomplished with officially authorized medals. These pieces, if struck, would adequately serve collectors, it was thought, and such pieces would not tend to 'confuse the coinage'." No commemorative coins were authorized or struck during the remainder of Hoover's presidency. Following the inauguration of Hoover's successor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, striking and authorization of commemoratives resumed. By 1935, Roosevelt had warned Congress against issuing large numbers of commemoratives and repeated this in 1937, both times citing Hoover's veto of the Gadsden Purchase bill, and urging the issuance of medals instead.
Gadsden Purchase half dollar | Aftermath
Far ahead of the 1955 doubled die cent in rarity, the 1943 copper cent is one of the notable rarities of the Lincoln cent series. An estimated 40 examples are believed to have been struck, with 13 confirmed to exist. The error occurred when copper planchets were left in the press hopper and press machines during the changeover from copper to steel blanks. Examples were discovered after the War, with the first two in 1947, and another in 1958. That example appeared in a 1958 Abe Kosoff sale, but was withdrawn prior to the sale; one mint condition Denver Mint specimen sold for over $1.7 million in 2010.
1943 steel cent | 1943 copper cent
Sinnock stated that the pieces were most likely struck in late 1941, when preparation of the 1942 dies was under way. Also produced at that time, though less apparent to the naked eye, was the 1942/1-D. Another popular variety is the 1945-S "Micro S", with a smaller-than-normal mintmark. This variety was caused by the Mint's wartime use of a puncheon (used to impress mintmarks on dies and hubs) which had been made for use with early 20th century Philippine coinage struck at San Francisco, which had only a small space for the mintmark. Beginning in 1928, coin albums were issued by private publishers, mostly in folder form, which were widely used to collect the pieces.
Mercury dime | Collecting
R. Gross objected to the base-metal composition of the proposed coin: "You would be doing the memory of President Eisenhower no favor to mint a dollar made perhaps of scrap metal." Both houses voted on October 14, Eisenhower's birthday. Although the House passed the administration-backed bill for a base metal dollar, the Senate passed the bill as amended by Colorado Senator Peter Dominick, calling for the piece to be minted in 40% silver. Instrumental in the passage of the Senate amendment was a letter from Mamie Eisenhower, recalling that her husband had liked to give silver dollars as mementoes, and had gone to some effort to obtain coins struck in the year of his birth, 1890.
Eisenhower dollar | Inception
The dispute dragged on for over a year before President Nixon signed a bill on December 31, 1970 which authorized production of the Eisenhower dollar and eliminated the remaining 40% silver content from the half dollar. As a result of the delay, in 1970 uncirculated (non-proof) half dollars were struck only at the Denver mint and were available solely in mint sets. With a mintage of 2.1 million, the 1970-D Kennedy half is considered the "key" coin in the series, although enough were produced to keep prices modest. To avoid hoarding and a potential shortage of the sets, the Mint did not announce that no 1970 half dollars would be struck for circulation until after ordering for the mint sets had closed.
Kennedy half dollar | Switch to base metal
Two prototype dollars were struck at the Philadelphia Mint on January 25, 1971; they were subsequently destroyed. However, collectors have found at least two 1971-S coins that have been certified as prototypes. Striking such large pieces of tough copper-nickel proved destructive to the Mint's dies, and Gasparro repeatedly used the Janvier reducing lathe to lower the relief to be used on the circulation strikes and the uncirculated silver clad coins. The chief engraver altered the resulting master die directly to restore at least some of the detail which was lost as the relief was lowered. The proof coins struck at San Francisco, nevertheless, remained in high relief.
Eisenhower dollar | Release
Roosevelt, who considered Lincoln the savior of the Union and the greatest Republican President, and who also considered himself Lincoln's political heir, ordered the new Lincoln cent to be based on Brenner's work and to be released just in time to commemorate Lincoln's 100th birthday in 1909. The likeness of President Lincoln on the obverse of the coin is an adaptation of a plaque Brenner created several years earlier which had come to the attention of President Roosevelt in New York.
Penny (United States coin) | History
He noted that the technique of spacing out the letters of the word "Pioneer" above the head presages that used by later Chief Engraver Gilroy Roberts on the obverse of the Kennedy half dollar. According to Vermeule, Rovelstad "has produced one of the major documents of sculptural plasticity and vibrant relief in the series of commemorative coins. His obverse is worthy of a Roman medallion, and his reverse rivals the great Neoclassic dies of England or Bavaria in the nineteenth century."
Elgin, Illinois, Centennial half dollar | Design
The Barber coinage, after its release, attracted considerable public dissatisfaction. Beginning in 1905, successive presidential administrations had attempted to bring modern, beautiful designs to United States coins. Following the redesign of the double eagle, eagle, half eagle and quarter eagle in 1907 and 1908, as well as the cent and nickel redesigns of 1909 and 1913 respectively, advocates of replacing the Barber coins began to push for the change when the coins' minimum term expired in 1916. As early as 1914, Victor David Brenner, designer of the Lincoln cent, submitted unsolicited designs for the silver coins. He was told in response that Secretary of the Treasury William G.
Mercury dime | Inception
The entire debacle played-out with assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 as a background. Hours before Kennedy was shot, NY Stock Exchange president G. Keith Funston attempted to avert a market crash as Ira Haupt's 20,700 customers, fearing financial ruin, scrambled to sell their oil holdings before they became worthless. Because of all the trades the brokerage firm did on De Angelis' behalf, various banks were left holding the bag with over $37 million in unrecoverable loans. As the Kennedy assassination threw the market into a panic, 2.6 million shares were sold and the Dow dropped 24 points (about 5%) in 27 minutes.
Tino De Angelis | Scheme exposed
These early tokens undoubtedly influenced the denomination, appearance, size, and composition of Lincoln cents. Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th U.S. President, thought American coins were so common and uninspiring that he attempted to get the motto "In God We Trust" removed as offending religion. Roosevelt had the opportunity to pose for a young Lithuanian-born Jew, Victor David Brenner, who, since arriving nineteen years earlier in the United States had become one of the nation's premier medalists. Roosevelt had learned of Brenner's talents in a settlement house on New York City's Lower East Side and was immediately impressed with a bas-relief that Brenner had made of Lincoln, based on a Mathew Brady photograph.
Penny (United States coin) | History
By then, both sales and mintage figures had considerably declined, and would continue to decline for the rest of the program. One exception to this trend is the 1950 San Francisco and 1951 Philadelphia issues, which the commission sold as a part of a promotion which also involved schools and hospitals. However, a considerable portion of the mintage of these coins would still be returned to the mint in the following years for melting.
Booker T. Washington Memorial half dollar | Release
My idea is to make it a "living" thing, and typical of progress. On January 2, 1906, Saint-Gaudens wrote to Shaw, enquiring whether a high relief was practical on coins struck at the Mint. Shaw did not immediately reply, but instead met with Roosevelt, who wrote that there was no objection to have the coins, many of which would be stored in bank vaults and not circulated, "as artistic as the Greeks could desire". Roosevelt secured Shaw's support for the redesign, although as the President wrote to Saint-Gaudens, "of course he thinks I am a crack-brained lunatic on the subject".
Saint-Gaudens double eagle | Inception
The Philadelphia Mint struck 20,000 gold dollars in August and October 1916, plus 26 extra reserved for inspection and testing at the 1917 meeting of the United States Assay Commission. In February 1917, 10,000 more (plus 14 assay coins) were minted, again at Philadelphia. The Association sold these to the public at $3 each, the same price at which the Louisiana Purchase pieces, which sold poorly, had been vended. The McKinley Memorial pieces were ill-publicized, and few were sold at full price. Texas coin dealer B. Max Mehl purchased 10,000 pieces at an unknown price, selling them for years afterwards at $2.50 each.
McKinley Birthplace Memorial gold dollar | Distribution and collecting
President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904 expressed his dissatisfaction with the artistic state of American coins, and hoped to hire sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to beautify them. Saint-Gaudens, before his death in 1907, designed a new eagle and double eagle, which entered circulation that year; the cent, quarter eagle, and half eagle were redesigned by other artists and were released into circulation by 1909. That year, Mint Director Frank Leach instructed Barber to make pattern coins for new nickels. Most of these coins featured the first president, George Washington. However, the project was discontinued when Leach left office on November 1, 1909, to be replaced by Abram Andrew.
Nickel (United States coin) | Buffalo or Indian Head (1913–1938)
The coin continued to be minted until 1945, when the Treasury ordered that a new design, featuring recently deceased president Franklin Roosevelt, take its place. The Mercury dime was minted again but in gold for its centenary in 2016.
Mercury dime | Introduction
Many of the coins from 1888 and 1889 were still held at the Treasury Department and were melted after passage of the act, the fate of millions more as they flowed back from banks. The resultant metal contributed to large mintages of the Liberty Head nickel between 1890 and 1893.
Three-cent nickel | Decline and end (1873–90)
The coins were popular overseas as well. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs G. Mennen Williams distributed plastic-encased specimens to presidents and foreign ministers of African nations and to the U.S. ambassadors serving there "to win friends for the United States in Africa". Shortly after the coin's release, the Denver Mint began receiving complaints that the new coin depicted a hammer and sickle on the bottom of Kennedy's truncated bust. In response, Roberts stated that the portion of the design in question was actually his monogram, a stylized "". The Mint struck Kennedy half dollars in large numbers in an attempt to meet the overwhelming demand.
Kennedy half dollar | Initial popularity
When it became known that the Denver Mint had struck only 2,630,030 nickels in 1950, the coins (catalogued as 1950-D) began to be widely hoarded. Speculation in them increased in the early 1960s, but prices decreased sharply in 1964. Because they were so widely pulled from circulation, the 1950-D is readily available today. A number of reverse dies with an S mint mark, intended for the San Francisco Mint, were created in 1955; they were not used as that mint struck no nickels that year and subsequently closed, and the unused dies were sent for use at Denver, where the S mint mark was overpunched with a D.
Jefferson nickel | 1946–2003: Later production of original designs
The design for the Buffalo nickel is well regarded today, and has appeared both on a commemorative silver dollar and a bullion coin. However, during the time it was struck (1913–1938), it was less well liked, especially by Mint authorities, whose attempts to bring out the full design increased an already high rate of die breakage. By 1938, it had been struck for 25 years, thus becoming eligible to be replaced by action of the Secretary of the Treasury rather than by Congress. The Mint, which is part of the Department of the Treasury, moved quickly and without public protest to replace the coin.
Jefferson nickel | Inception