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.
Introduction
Roosevelt dime
Roosevelt dime | Introduction
John R. Sinnock John R. Sinnock. John R. Sinnock John R. Sinnock
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Is the current dime, or ten-cent piece, of the United States
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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 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)
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)
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)
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
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
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
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
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)
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
The dime, in United States usage, is a ten-cent coin, one tenth of a United States dollar, labeled formally as "one dime". The denomination was first authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792. The dime is the smallest in diameter and is the thinnest of all U.S. coins currently minted for circulation, being in diameter and in thickness. The obverse of the current dime depicts the profile of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the reverse boasts an olive branch, a torch, and an oak branch, from left to right respectively. As of 2011, the dime coin cost 5.65 cents to produce.
Dime (United States coin) | Introduction
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
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
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
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
One of only two known from 1975 sold at auction in 2011 for $349,600.
Roosevelt dime | Collecting
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
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
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
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
Thus dimes are made small and thin. The silver percentage was increased to 90.0% with the introduction of the Seated Liberty dime; the use of a richer alloy was offset by reducing the diameter from 18.8 millimeters (0.740 inch) to its current figure of 17.9 millimeters (0.705 inch).
Dime (United States coin) | History
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
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
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
... Eisenhower, for one, considered reports like this to be the stuff of 'dime novels.'"
Kermit Roosevelt Jr. | Countercoup
The Draped Bust design was succeeded by the Capped Bust, designed by Mint Assistant Engraver John Reich. Both the obverse and reverse were changed extensively. The new reverse featured a bald eagle grasping three arrows (symbolizing strength) and an olive branch (symbolizing peace). Covering the eagle's breast is a U.S. shield with six horizontal lines and 13 vertical stripes. Also on the reverse is the lettering "10C," making it the only dime minted with the value given in cents (subsequent issues are inscribed with the words "ONE DIME"). The lack of numeric value markings on subsequent dime coins causes some confusion amongst foreign visitors, who may be unaware of the value of the coin.
Dime (United States coin) | Capped Bust (1809–1837)
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
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
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 Roosevelt dime was issued on January 30, 1946.
Paralytic illness of Franklin D. Roosevelt | March of Dimes
The word "dime" comes from the Old French "disme" (now dîme), meaning "tithe" or "tenth part", from the Latin "decima [pars]". In the past prices have occasionally been quoted on signage and other materials in terms of dimes, abbreviated as "d" or a lowercase "d" with a slash through it (₫) as with the cent and mill signs. As of 2019, the dime is the only United States coin in general circulation that is not denominated in terms of dollars or cents.
Dime (United States coin) | Introduction
As customary, the game began with the first of two rounds in which contestants answered questions to earn spins for the "Big Board"; a correct buzz-in answer earned three spins, while a correct multiple-choice answer earned one spin. Larson's memorization of the patterns could not help him here, and he struggled early. On the second question, the host asked, "You've probably got President Franklin D. Roosevelt in your pocket or purse right now, because his likeness is on the head side..." Larson buzzed in at this point and answered, "$50 bill" (which has a portrait of President Ulysses S. Grant), after which Tomarken finished the question "...of what American coin?" with the answer being "a dime", the other choice being "a nickel".
Michael Larson | First round
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
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
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
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
Weinman (who had studied under Augustus Saint-Gaudens) won a 1915 competition against two other artists for the design job, and 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. Although the fasces was later officially adopted by Benito Mussolini and his National Fascist Party, the symbol was also common in American iconography and has generally avoided any stigma associated with its usage in wartime Italy.
Dime (United States coin) | Winged Liberty Head ("Mercury") (1916–1945)
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
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
On January 3, 1938, Roosevelt founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, now known as the March of Dimes. Basil O'Connor, an attorney and close associate of Roosevelt, helped establish the foundation and was its president for more than three decades. The organization's annual fundraising campaign coincided with Roosevelt's birthday on January 30. The organization initially focused on the rehabilitation of victims of paralytic polio and supported the work of Jonas Salk and others that led to the development of polio vaccines. Today, the March of Dimes focuses on preventing premature births, congenital disabilities, and infant mortality. Because he founded the March of Dimes, a dime was chosen to honor Roosevelt after his death.
Paralytic illness of Franklin D. Roosevelt | March of Dimes
Roosevelt's home in Hyde Park is now a National Historic Site and home to his Presidential library. Washington D.C., hosts two memorials to the former president. The largest, the Roosevelt Memorial, is located next to the Jefferson Memorial on the Tidal Basin. A more modest memorial, a block of marble in front of the National Archives building suggested by Roosevelt himself, was erected in 1965. Roosevelt's leadership in the March of Dimes is one reason he is commemorated on the American dime. Roosevelt has also appeared on several U.S. Postage stamps.
Franklin D. Roosevelt | Memorials
Since its introduction in 1796, the dime has been issued in six different major types, excluding the 1792 "disme". The name for each type (except for the Barber dime) indicates the design on the coin's obverse.
Dime (United States coin) | Design history
The Mercury dime is a ten-cent coin struck by the United States Mint from late 1916 to 1945. Designed by Adolph Weinman and also referred to as the Winged Liberty Head dime, it gained its common name because the obverse depiction of a young Liberty, identifiable by her winged Phrygian cap, was confused with the Roman god Mercury. Weinman is believed to have used Elsie Stevens, the wife of lawyer and poet Wallace Stevens, as a model. The coin's reverse depicts a "fasces", symbolizing unity and strength, and an olive branch, signifying peace. By 1916, the dime, quarter, and half dollar designed by Mint Chief Engraver Charles E.
Mercury 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
The first dime to be circulated was the Draped Bust dime, in 1796. It featured the same obverse and reverse as all other circulating coins of the time, the so-called Draped Bust/Small Eagle design. This design was the work of then-Chief Engraver Robert Scot. The portrait of Liberty on the obverse was based on a Gilbert Stuart drawing of prominent Philadelphia socialite Ann Willing Bingham, wife of noted American statesman William Bingham. The reverse design is of a small bald eagle surrounded by palm and olive branches, and perched on a cloud. Since the Coinage Act of 1792 required only that the cent and half cent display their denomination, Draped Bust dimes were minted with no indication of their value.
Dime (United States coin) | Draped Bust (1796–1807)
The Draped Bust/Heraldic Eagles series continued through 1807 (although no dimes dated 1799 or 1806 were minted). Both Draped Bust designs were composed of 89.24% silver and 10.76% copper.
Dime (United States coin) | Draped Bust (1796–1807)
Woolley recorded that he was told that the model wore the top of an old pair of stockings to simulate the cap. In 1966, Holly Stevens, Wallace and Elsie's daughter, noted in her edition of her father's letters that Elsie had been the model for Weinman's dime and half dollar. Liberty's features also bear a resemblance to the face of Victory in Weinman's 1909 statuary group erected in Baltimore, the "Union Soldiers and Sailors' Monument". Weinman's dime depicts Liberty with a wreath of tight curls, and wearing a traditional "pileus", or Liberty cap. His depiction of the "pileus" as a winged cap has provoked comparisons with Roman Republic "denarii", which art historian Cornelius Vermeule considered superficial.
Mercury dime | Design
Dimes were produced at all four of the mints that operated during the period. While circulated coins of the entire series are readily available to collectors there is one outstanding rarity, the 1894-S Barber Dime. Twenty-four were minted, with 9 currently known.
Dime (United States coin) | Barber (1892–1916)
J. Mayo, Chris Paul, Tyreke Evans, Lance Stephenson, Brandon Roy, Rajon Rondo and Aquille Carr. Kobe Bryant has had the most "Dime" covers to date, having appeared on the cover five times.
Dime Magazine | History
Cantor was the second president of the Screen Actors Guild, serving from 1933 to 1935. He invented the title "The March of Dimes" for the donation campaigns of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which was organized to combat polio. It was a play on "The March of Time" newsreels popular at the time. He began the first campaign on his radio show in January 1938, asking listeners to mail a dime to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. At that time, Roosevelt was the most notable American victim of polio. Other entertainers joined in the appeal via their own shows, and the White House mail room was deluged with 2,680,000 dimes—a large sum at the time.
Eddie Cantor | Biography
The Barber dime is named for its designer, Charles E. Barber, who was Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint from 1879 to 1917. The design was shared with the quarter and half-dollar of the same period. Extensive internal politics surrounded the awarding of the design job, which had initially been opened to the public. A four-member committee (which included Barber), appointed by then-Mint Director James Kimball, accorded only two of more than 300 submissions an honorable mention. Kimball's successor, Edward O. Leech, decided to dispense with the committees and public design competitions and simply instructed Barber to develop a new design.
Dime (United States coin) | Barber (1892–1916)
His parents owned a radio repair store at 247 East 10th Street in New York.
Armand DiMele | Introduction
Currently the dime has, as with all Canadian coins, a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. The reverse contains a representation of the "Bluenose", a famous Canadian schooner. The artist, Emanuel Hahn, used three ships including the "Bluenose" as his models, so the ship design is actually a composite. The coin is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint at its facility in Winnipeg. The word "dime" comes from the French word "dîme", meaning "tithe" or "tenth part", from the Latin "decima [pars]".
Dime (Canadian coin) | Introduction
The lettering is in Roman style, and is made as discreet as possible. Weinman's monogram, AW, appears on the obverse, midway between the date and the letter Y in "". The mintmark is located on the reverse, to the right of the first E in "". Woolley described the design in his 1916 report to the Secretary of the Treasury:
Mercury dime | Design
The Coinage Act of 1792 established the dime (spelled "disme" in the legislation), cent, and mill as subdivisions of the dollar equal to , and dollar respectively. The first known proposal for a decimal-based coinage system in the United States was made in 1783 by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and David Rittenhouse. Hamilton, the nation's first Secretary of the Treasury, recommended the issuance of six such coins in 1791, in a report to Congress. Among the six was a silver coin, "which shall be, in weight and value, one-tenth part of a silver unit or dollar". From 1796 to 1837, dimes were composed of 89.24% silver and 10.76% copper, the value of which required the coins to be physically very small to prevent their intrinsic value being worth more than face value.
Dime (United States coin) | History
On May 29, Woolley wrote Weinman that the designs, both for the dime and half dollar, were accepted by the Mint. As no Barber pieces of any of the three denominations had been struck in 1916, the pent-up demand was high. On June 24, Woolley wrote to Joyce: Two days later, work on dies was stopped when it was decided that the lettering was insufficiently distinct. The delay, however, did not prevent the Mint from authorizing payment to Weinman for his designs. On July 15, Woolley resigned as Mint director to work as publicity chairman of the Wilson reelection campaign.
Mercury dime | Preparation
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
In the Large Date variety, the "3" has a pointed serif at top, and the horizontal element of the "7" is straight. In the Small Date variety, the "3" has a rounded serif, and there is small a knob, or bulge, in the "7" horizontal element. Only the Philadelphia Mint made both varieties. The Small Date is slightly rarer. The New Orleans Mint also made the Seated Liberty Dime in this year, but only in the Small Date variety.
Dime (United States coin) | Seated Liberty (1837–1891)
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
It was said to have been inspired by Crockett's meeting with a Horatio Bunce, a much quoted man in Libertarian circles, but one for whom historical evidence is non-existent.
Edward S. Ellis | Dime novels
The Coinage Act of 1792, passed on April 2, 1792, authorized the mintage of a "disme", one-tenth the silver weight and value of a dollar. The composition of the disme was set at 89.24% silver and 10.76% copper. In 1792, a limited number of dismes were minted but never circulated. Some of these were struck in copper, indicating that the 1792 dismes were in fact pattern coins. The first dimes minted for circulation did not appear until 1796, due to a lack of demand for the coin and production problems at the United States Mint.
Dime (United States coin) | "Disme" (1792)
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
It has been speculated that this is what Barber had wanted all along. The Barber dime, as with all previous dimes, featured an image of Liberty on the obverse. She is wearing a Phrygian cap, a laurel wreath with a ribbon, and a headband with the inscription "LIBERTY". This inscription is one of the key elements used in determining the condition of Barber dimes. Liberty's portrait was inspired by two sources—French coins and medals of the period, as well as ancient Greek and Roman sculpture. The obverse also contains the long-used 13 stars (for the 13 colonies) design element. The reverse contained a wreath and inscription almost identical to the one used on the final design of the Seated Liberty dime.
Dime (United States coin) | Barber (1892–1916)
Production of half dimes resumed in 1829 based on a new design by Chief Engraver William Kneass, who is believed to have adapted an earlier John Reich design. All coins were minted at Philadelphia and display no mintmark. The high circulating mintage in the series was in 1835, when 2,760,000 were struck, and the low of 871,000 was in 1837. Both Capped Bust and Seated Liberty half dimes were minted in 1837.
Half dime | Capped Bust (1829–1837)
The 1894-S Barber dime is a dime produced in the United States Barber coinage. It is one of the rarest and most highly prized United States coins for collectors, along with the 1804 dollar and the 1913 Liberty Head nickel. One was sold in 2005 for $1.3 million, and another for $1.9 million in 2007. Only 24 were minted, and of those, only nine are known to survive; all nine (as was the entire mintage) were proof coins; two are heavily worn impaired proofs. In 1957, one of the latter was found in a junk coin box at Gimbels Department Store, and purchased for $2.40.
1894-S Barber dime | Introduction
In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt wrote to his Secretary of the Treasury, Leslie Mortier Shaw, complaining that U.S. coinage lacked artistic merit, and enquiring if it would be possible to engage a private artist, such as sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, to prepare new coin designs. At Roosevelt's instructions, 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). As the designs of those pieces had remained the same for 25 years, they could be changed without an act of Congress. The Indian Head cent, which the Lincoln cent replaced, had been introduced in 1859.
Lincoln cent | Inception
The Mercury dime was released into circulation on October 30, 1916, the same day that production of the Barber dime ceased. Several newspapers complained that Weinman's monogram was too prominent on the obverse; according to "The New York Times", the Treasury was considering removal. On November 4, Weinman enquired of Joyce whether any removal was contemplated; he received in reply compliments on his design and Joyce's statement that the Mint was not responsible for what appeared in print. Weinman wrote again, hoping to make changes to the dime, but was told that only an act of Congress could change the design.
Mercury dime | Release and production; name controversy
Christian Gobrecht completed the design of the Seated Liberty dime, whose obverse was used with every circulating silver U.S. coin of the period. Mint Director Robert Maskell Patterson requested a new coin design, to be reminiscent of the Britannia image found on coinage of the United Kingdom. Chief Engraver William Kneass drew the original sketches, but suffered a stroke and was too ill to finish them or to oversee preparation of the dies. The task then fell to Gobrecht, who was promoted to Second Engraver. The obverse features an image of Liberty sitting on a rock, wearing a dress and holding a staff with a liberty cap on top.
Dime (United States coin) | Seated Liberty (1837–1891)
All 1796 dimes have 15 stars on the obverse, representing the number of U.S. states then in the Union. The first 1797 dimes were minted with 16 stars, reflecting Tennessee's admission as the 16th state. Realizing that the practice of adding one star per state could quickly clutter the coin's design, U.S. Mint Director Elias Boudinot ordered a design alteration, to feature just 13 stars (for the original Thirteen Colonies). Therefore, 1797 dimes can be found with either 13 or 16 stars. Also designed by Robert Scot, the Heraldic Eagle reverse design made its debut in 1798. The obverse continued from the previous series, but the eagle on the reverse was changed from the widely criticized "scrawny" hatchling to a scaled-down version of the Great Seal of the United States.
Dime (United States coin) | Draped Bust (1796–1807)
Ralph T. Adimari (1902–1970) was an editor, researcher, and historian of the dime novel, a class of popular fiction that thrived in the mid to late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. The term "dime novels" refers to inexpensive, cheaply produced paperbacks and serials, often romance, adventure, westerns, or detective stories.
Ralph Adimari | Introduction
1894-S BARBER DIME
John Daggett | References
To maintain a standard weight and alloy, the diameter of most coins was reduced. In particular, the dime was reduced in diameter from 18.8 to 18.5 millimeters. This new Capped Bust dime, which began production in 1828, is known as the Small type. There are 123 varieties known of Capped Bust Dimes.
Dime (United States coin) | Capped Bust (1809–1837)
Coins for circulation Commemorative coins
List of presidents of the United States on currency | Theodore Roosevelt
The museum's front window also showcased a reproduction of Haussner's Restaurant's legendary ball of string.
American Dime Museum | Description
Her right hand is balancing a shield with the inscription "LIBERTY." The reverse featured the inscription "ONE DIME," surrounded by a wreath. All Seated Liberty dimes contain 90% silver and 10% copper, and are 17.9 millimeters (0.705 inch) in diameter. This size and metal composition would continue until 1965, when silver was permanently removed from circulating dimes. There were several minor varieties during the Seated Liberty's run. The initial design (1837) had no stars on the obverse and, further, the dates were minted in a Large Date and Small Date variety. These two types can be distinguished by noting the "3" and the "7" in the date.
Dime (United States coin) | Seated Liberty (1837–1891)
The project published period maps at several aggregation levels on the web. , over 12500 agents were installed by over 5500 users residing in about 95 nations, and in several hundreds of ASes. The project collected over 2.2 billion measurements.
DIMES | Introduction
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
Barber had been struck for 25 years, and could be replaced by the Treasury, of which the Mint is a part, without Congressional authorization. Mint officials were under the misapprehension that the designs had to be changed, and held a competition among three sculptors, in which Barber, who had been in his position for 36 years, also took part. Weinman's designs for the dime and half dollar were selected. Although the new coin's design was admired for its beauty, the Mint made modifications to it upon learning that vending machine manufacturers were having difficulties making the new dime work in their devices.
Mercury dime | Introduction
Roosevelt.
Thomas E. Dewey | Introduction
54,757 half dimes of this design were minted.
Half dime | Small eagle reverse (1796–1797)
coins of different denominations with the same president featured on the obverse (heads) side (Lincoln/penny, Jefferson/nickel, Franklin D. Roosevelt/dime, Washington/quarter, Kennedy/half dollar, and Eisenhower/dollar). Another unusual fact about the new $1 coin is Grover Cleveland will have two coins with two different portraits issued due to the fact he was the only U.S. president to be elected to two non-consecutive terms.
United States dollar | Dollar coins
Coins for circulation Commemorative coins
List of presidents of the United States on currency | Franklin D. Roosevelt
The group was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on January 3, 1938, as a response to U.S. epidemics of polio, a condition that can leave people with permanent physical disabilities. Roosevelt was himself diagnosed with polio in 1921, although his symptoms are now known to be more consistent with Guillain–Barré syndrome – an autoimmune neuropathy which Roosevelt's doctors failed to consider as a diagnostic possibility. The foundation was an alliance between scientists and volunteers, with volunteers raising money to support research and education efforts. The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis was a reconstitution of the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation, which Roosevelt and his friend Basil O'Connor founded with other friends in 1927.
March of Dimes | Anti-polio efforts
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
One reason often given for the discontinuation of the three-cent nickel piece in 1889 is that this coin and the dime (10-cent silver coin) were identical in diameter. Another factor may have been that in 1883, the letter postage rate dropped to 2 cents, thus removing the justification for this coin.
Three-cent piece | History
The author of "Mathematical Fallacies and Paradoxes" uses a dime glued to a half-dollar with their centers aligned, both fixed to an axle, as a model for the paradox. The dime serves as the smaller circle and the half-dollar as the larger one. He writes: This is the solution, then, or the key to it. Although you are careful not to let the half-dollar slip on the tabletop, the “point” tracing the line segment at the foot of the dime is both rotating and slipping all the time. It is slipping with respect to the tabletop. Since the dime does not touch the table top, you do not notice the slipping.
Aristotle's wheel paradox | In the 20th century
Many of the pieces that had been sold at a premium and saved were spent during the Depression; most surviving coins show evidence of wear.
Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar | Introduction
Also, the Capped Bust dime was the first dime to have its value written on the coin. Previous designs of the dime had no indication of its value, the way people determined its value was by its size Capped Bust dimes minted through 1828 are known as the Large type. This is partially because they were struck without a restraining collar, which gave them a broader appearance. In 1828, Chief Engraver William Kneass introduced the close collar method of coining (which automated the process of placing reeds on a coin's edge). In addition to standardizing the diameter of coins, the new method allowed the Mint to produce thicker coins.
Dime (United States coin) | Capped Bust (1809–1837)
Five and Dime is a 1933 cartoon short by Walter Lantz Productions, and stars Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It is the 74th Oswald short produced by Lantz and the 125th overall.
Five and Dime | Introduction
Roosevelt, becoming the Act of May 2, 1935. In June 1935, 10,000 Hudson half dollars were distributed to civic authorities for sale to the public. Most of the coins were likely bought by coin dealers, leaving few for collectors, with the result that prices spiked from the $1 cost at the time of issue. This caused anger among coin collectors at the time, but the coin's value has increased steadily since then.
Hudson Sesquicentennial half dollar | Introduction
The introduction of the copper-nickel three and five-cent pieces made the silver coins of the same denomination redundant, and both silver denominations were discontinued in 1873.
Half dime | Introduction
He detested the eagle, and numismatic lore has it that he often referred to it as a scavenger. Given the practical man that he was, Franklin proposed the wild turkey as our national bird." An 1890 statute forbade the replacement of a coin design without congressional action, unless it had been in service for 25 years, counting the year of first issuance. The Walking Liberty half dollar and Mercury dime had been first issued in 1916; they could be replaced without congressional action from and after 1940. Mint officials considered putting Franklin on the dime in 1941, but the project was shelved due to heavy demands on the Mint for coins as the United States entered World War II.
Franklin half dollar | Background and selection
The arrows were dropped in 1856, with the earlier design resumed through 1859. In 1860, the obverse stars were replaced with the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the reverse wreath was enlarged. This design stayed in place through the end of the series. In 1978 a unique 1870-S Seated Liberty half dime became known. The Seated Liberty half dime was produced at the Philadelphia, San Francisco and New Orleans mints in an aggregate amount of 84,828,478 coins struck for circulation. See also United States Seated Liberty coinage.
Half dime | Seated Liberty (1837–1873)
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
The buyer was Dell Loy Hansen, the owner of Major League Soccer team Real Salt Lake.
1894-S Barber dime | Value
On September 26, 1890, the United States Congress passed an act providing: The Barber coinage had been introduced in 1892; similar dimes, quarter dollars, and half dollars, all designed by Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber. The introduction had followed a design competition to replace the Seated Liberty coinage, which had been struck since the 1830s. The Mint had offered only a small prize to the winner, and all invited artists refused to submit entries. The competition was open to the public, and the judging committee found no entry suitable. Mint Director Edward Leech responded to the failed competition by directing Barber to prepare new designs for the dime, quarter, and half dollar.
Mercury dime | Inception
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
Although most commonly referred to as the "Mercury" dime, the Winged Liberty Head does not depict the Roman messenger god. The obverse figure is a depiction of the mythological goddess Liberty wearing a Phrygian cap, a classic Western symbol of liberty and freedom, with its wings intended to symbolize freedom of thought. 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% silver, 10% copper) and diameter (17.9 millimeters) of the "Mercury" dime was unchanged from the Barber dime.
Dime (United States coin) | Winged Liberty Head ("Mercury") (1916–1945)
As opposed to the standard 54mm size popularised by Britains figures, the minimally painted dimestore figures were 3 inches/7 cm in size to correspond with the American made standard gauge toy trains of the time. Though they had made smaller sized figures previously, Barclay began their 3 inch size in 1924 with the figures made of 87% lead and 13% antimony. The largest manufacture of toy soldier in the United States in the 1930s and early 1940s was the Barclay Manufacturing Company. Prices of the soldiers were mostly kept to five cents, a nickel during this time, making them affordable to children.
Dimestore soldiers | Rise and fall
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