The Ultimate Proof Dime Collection: The 1st 30 years of San Francisco Roosevelt Dimes!
The Roosevelt Dime has long been a collector’s favorite…from its inception in 1946 all the way up to today; the Roosevelt Dime truly stands above the rest! It is considered to be one of the few “hidden” values that truly have stood the test of time after decades of collecting. It is simple math: when you combine the rich minting history of the Roosevelt Dime with its rarity, you simply cannot go wrong!
The most sought after Roosevelt dimes are the ones specifically made for collectors: the Proofs! Originally these coins were struck at the Philadelphia Mint up until 1964, with production then shifting to the fabled San Francisco Mint in 1968 right up until today! These special Proof dimes were only available in the official U.S. Proof Set released annually – there is no finding these in your spare change!
In honor of today’s anniversary, a day when Roosevelt was elected to his unprecedented 4th term in office, we are bringing back a huge fan-favorite collection of these proof dimes! Due to the hard time many of our collectors were having getting their hands on these older San Francisco Proofs, We put together a massive collection of the first 30 years of San Francisco Proof Roosevelt Dimes!
The Roosevelt Dime: A Man and his March into history
After the tragic death of President Roosevelt in 1945, legislation was quickly introduced calling for the Mercury Dime’s design to be replaced with one bearing President Roosevelt’s iconic image.
What many did not know is that the decision to place Roosevelt’s image on our 10 cent piece came out of our respect for the life’s work of our former president. No achievement is greater than his role in founding the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, an organization that is now known as the “March of Dimes”. The Roosevelt dime design was released on January 30th, 1946, the day that would have been the former presidents 64th birthday.
The ‘Coin of Communism’ misunderstanding
The ‘Red Scare’ (a name coined by future generations) was in full swing during the release of the Roosevelt Dime in 1964, and it was having a major impact on the American public. The threat of the ‘Cold War’ spiraling into World War 3 struck fear into the hearts of the population. In fact, the fear was so real to everyday consumers that they even thought the Roosevelt Dime was a coin honoring communism!
As a result of this Anti-Communist atmosphere, many people believed that the initials of JS placed at the trunk of Roosevelt’s neck stood for “Joseph Stalin” the then leader of the Soviet Union. This was (thankfully!) proven to not be the case, as the initials stood for the designer of the coin itself: John Sinnock.
