Roosevelt's death in April 1945 triggered an almost immediate push to replace the Mercury dime, and the Treasury moved with unusual speed — Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock had a design approved and in production within months, making this one of the faster commemorative-to-circulation turnarounds in U.S. Mint history. Sinnock's initials "JS" on the truncation of the neck briefly sparked a public rumor that the initials stood for Joseph Stalin, a charge the Mint dismissed but which circulated in the press long enough to become a minor political embarrassment.
The series ran uninterrupted through 1964, the last year clad coinage had not yet displaced silver. Proof sets from 1950–1964 used the same .900 fine composition as circulation strikes.
Roosevelt's death in April 1945 triggered an almost immediate push to replace the Mercury dime, and the Treasury moved with unusual speed — Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock had a design approved and in production within months, making this one of the faster commemorative-to-circulation turnarounds in U.S. Mint history. Sinnock's initials "JS" on the truncation of the neck briefly sparked a public rumor that the initials stood for Joseph Stalin, a charge the Mint dismissed but which circulated in the press long enough to become a minor political embarrassment.
The series ran uninterrupted through 1964, the last year clad coinage had not yet displaced silver. Proof sets from 1950–1964 used the same .900 fine composition as circulation strikes.