First Five Roosevelt Silver Dimes

The first Roosevelt Silver Dime was minted in 1946 as a tribute to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died in office the previous year. The Dime was an appropriate tribute, because Roosevelt was instrumental in establishing the March of Dimes to help find a cure for polio (a disease from which he suffered).
The coin was made in .900 pure silver until 1964; in 1965 the composition was changed to copper-nickel due to the escalating price of silver. This collection features the first five Roosevelt Silver Dimes minted – 1946 through 1950.
The coin was designed by John R. Sinnock. One side shows a portrait of Roosevelt. The other side features flaming torch (a symbol of liberty and freedom) in the center. A sprig of laurel on the left (a symbol of civic glory) and a sprig of oak on the right (a symbol of military glory) pay tribute to Roosevelt’s New Deal policies that transformed America in the Great Depression, as well as his leadership in World War II.
Millions of the silver coins were melted for the precious silver when the price of silver bullion soared to over $50 an ounce in 1980. Millions more coins were also melted at other times when silver prices spiked. To make matters worse, most of these coins were worn out or damaged in circulation due to their “workhorse” nature at the time of issue.
As a result, there are fewer and fewer of these coins available to collectors every year. For this collection, we have carefully selected only those coins in collectible condition.
The five-coin collection is presented in a custom wallet and includes a Certificate of Authenticity.