I don’t know when or where the custom started, but carrying an old coin in one’s pocket for good luck seems to be a very ancient tradition. There is evidence that people as long ago as 1620 carried special coins with them to ward off sickness and disease, witches and other demons. In more recent times it has become popular for many people to carry a significant coin or token for good luck, or in some cases, as a means of identification for members of secret societies.
Coin collectors are especially apt to carry some unusual or interesting coin with them for sentimental reasons. I have noticed this numerous times among acquaintances, and I must confess that I too have carried some kind of a special piece with me ever since I began my interest in coins many years ago. It has not always been the same coin, for on at least two occasions I have inadvertently spent or lost them. But they are always replaced with some other conversation piece.
One coin that I carried for many years was a common ancient Roman bronze. It was on the 4th of July that it must have fallen out of my pocket at a lawn party. A few months later the host called to tell me about the incredible old coin he had found in his back yard. I never did spoil his dreams by telling him where it came from. It was too much fun letting him ponder the improbability of it all.
On another occasion the Spanish silver two-bit piece that I still carry today not only caused a commotion, but also brought me a real bit of good fortune. It was on an airplane flight from Chicago to New York. The plane had been delayed and the attendants were trying to placate passengers through playing games and other pleasantries. I knew it was going to be my lucky day when they announced that they would give a bottle of wine to the person who had the oldest dated coin in their pocket. For effect I waited until several people had shouted out 1960, 1949, 1942 or whatever, and then I called the attendant over and showed her my coin that was clearly dated 1773. She could scarcely believe it and went up and down the aisle showing it to everyone before delivering my prize.
Roosevelt Knew The Value Of A Dime
Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Brother, can you spare a dime?” That was the buzzword back in depression days of the early 1930s. Today one would have to ask for a dollar or more to get even a cup of coffee. A dime back then would buy enough food to stave off hunger. If you were lucky enough to have a job, you probably wouldn’t have many dimes, but would have been willing to share with someone less fortunate. Such were the times when President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to office in 1933. It was a time of sharing and caring…and a time when a dime was a considerable amount of money.
Dimes back then were a bit different than what we use now. They were the same size, but they were made of 90 percent silver, and they had for the design a winged head of Liberty on the front and the Roman fasces the reverse. These are the pieces popularly known as “Mercury dimes” because the head of Liberty looks like that Roman god. Many people still think this was one of the best designed coins of modern times, and it is difficult to argue against that. The artist was Adolph A. Weinman, the man who also designed the Liberty Walking half-dollar of the same period. His monogram initials AW are on the front of the coin, near the back of Liberty’s neck. Mercury dimes were made from 1916 to 1947, and saw us through two World Wars and the great depression.
Mercury Dime
Few people of that day realized that their newly elected president was a victim of the dreaded disease poliomyelitis. The fact was well hidden from the public, but it was a handicap that he lived with since 1921, and something that he determined to combat with all his might. He never did win the battle for himself, but his efforts have benefited countless others through the development of Salk vaccine and the near eradication of polio. Also unbeknownst to most people was the numismatic side of how this drama was played out. That connection was the brainchild of the President that was known as the March of Dimes.
March of Dimes poster cir. late 1950s
Rich and poor alike made donations to the March of Dimes fund raising effort, and the money was used to develop a vaccine that ended that crippling disease. The millions of dimes that went into the effort were a part of our nation’s history that needed to be remembered, and when the President died in 1945 it was by popular demand that the old Mercury dimes were retired, and Roosevelt’s portrait used on the new issue. Mintage began in 1946 and has continued ever since with only a change in the composition, when clad copper replaced the old silver alloy in 1965.
The Roosevelt dime series is a popular collection because all of the dates and mints can be found with ease. Of course none of the silver pieces are still in circulation, but they usually can be obtained from accumulations of silver coins, or at very modest cost through coin dealers and special promotions.