What does a dime say?
June 23, 2008 (Monday)
Quick! Can you tell me what’s stamped on the back of a dime? No fair looking. O.K., I’ll tell you. In the center is a torch, symbol of liberty. To the left of the torch is an olive branch, symbol of peace, and to the right, an oak branch, symbol of strength and victory. This version of the back of a dime was introduced in 1946, when FDR’s profile replaced a winged Lady Liberty’s profile.
The nation was in the mood to emphasize these three ideals because we had only recently come through the Second World War.
The chief engraver of the U.S. Mint designed the coin, and put his initials, “J.S.” on the front of the coin. The temper of the times was revealed as protests developed over those two letters. The anti-Communist feelings of the nation came through as people demanded that the initials of Josef Stalin be removed from this coin of the United States. Later editions included the middle initial of the engraver, so that it then read, “J.R.S.” (Stalin’s middle initial was “V”).
Isn’t it strange that we have had so many dimes in our pockets and purses for 62 years and have not noticed what’s engraved on them? Next time you get a dime in change, ask the cashier what’s on the back of the dime. Chances are he/she won’t know and you can show him/her what’s there and tell the person what those symbols mean. Then, in a lightning fast presentation, you can turn the coin over and say a word about “In God we trust.”
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