Uncovering America's Heritage... Coin by Coin

1946 Roosevelt Dime

This is Bill the Mint Buffalo with a coin you just might have in your pocket right now.  It's a dime!  ...Actually, a dime with Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the front.  He's on dimes today and he's been there since 1946.

As soon as he died in 1945, folks began writing to the Treasury Department from all over the country to get his picture on a coin.  The dime was a good choice because Roosevelt supported the March of Dimes, a program that raised funds so researchers could try to find a cure for polio (short for poliomyelitis).  Polio is also called "infantile paralysis" and is caused by a virus.

Roosevelt caught the disease himself when he was 39 years old, and started feeling sick in August of 1921.  The disease got worse until he couldn't move his legs anymore.  But he didn't let his wheelchair stop him from running for President, carrying out his Presidential duties—for more than three terms!—or working hard to overcome the disease.  He was brave and determined, and that made everyone feel more brave and cheerful.

The dime was also a good choice because its design hadn't changed for more than 25 years.  By law, a coin's design must stay the same for at least 25 years.  (The 50 State Quarters^® Program needed a special law!)

The new Roosevelt dime was released on the late President's birthday, January 30.