1949 Roosevelt Dimes 1946-1964 MS67

History

Franklin D. Roosevelt died in April 1945, and within months the Mint had settled on the dime as the denomination for a memorial portrait, a choice tied to the March of Dimes polio campaign begun during his first term. Breaking with roughly forty years of practice, the Treasury assigned the work to its own staff rather than holding an outside competition, and Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock produced the models. His first attempt, a small head paired with large mottos, was rejected; the reworked design with a larger portrait and a very small IN GOD WE TRUST won approval from the Commission of Fine Arts and Treasury Secretary Fred Vinson on January 8, 1946. By 1949 the type was in its fourth year and Denver was striking it as routine production coinage.

Details

John R. Sinnock designed both sides, and the Denver Mint placed its D mint mark on the reverse to the left of the torch base. The coin was struck on the standard alloy of 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper. Philadelphia accounted for roughly 30.9 million dimes in 1949, with Denver and San Francisco supplying the balance of the year's output.

Features

The obverse carries LIBERTY in front of Roosevelt's face, IN GOD WE TRUST in smaller letters below the chin, and the initials JS at the neck truncation, with the date to the right of the initials and slightly above the motto. On the reverse a flaming torch stands between an olive branch at left and an oak branch at right, symbols of peace and victory, while E PLURIBUS UNUM runs across the field split into four segments, E PLU, RIB, US U and NUM, separated by centering dots. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA arcs above and the slightly larger ONE DIME sits below. Sharp, unbroken bands on the torch earn the Full Bands designation from PCGS or Full Torch from NGC, and that distinction drives most of the price spread on high-grade examples.

Notable facts

• Sinnock's initials JS below the bust gave rise to a rumor that they stood for Joseph Stalin, a story that flared up again when his Franklin half dollar appeared in 1948.
• Sinnock served as the eighth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1925 until his death on May 14, 1947, two years before this dime was struck.
• Some numismatic scholars argue the Roosevelt portrait derives from sculptor Selma Burke's bas-relief of the President, presented as a gift five years before the coin appeared.
• The 1949, 1949-D, 1949-S and 1950-S are all recognized as unexpectedly difficult in mid-range Mint State grades despite being common in circulated condition.
• The 1949-S has the second lowest mintage among circulation-strike silver Roosevelt dimes, behind only the 1955 Philadelphia issue of 12,450,181 pieces.
• Dimes were struck in silver through 1964, after which the Mint switched to copper-nickel clad blanks.