2015 March of Dimes silver dollar designs get CFA nod
- Published: May 15, 2014, 11 AM
The Commission of Fine Arts recommended proposed obverse and reverse designs for the 2015 March of Dimes commemorative silver dollar during its May 15 meeting.
The commemorative coin marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the March of Dimes Foundation and its fight against polio and other birth defects. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which is now called the March of Dimes
The review panel scrutinized 22 proposed obverse and 18 reverse designs.
The recommended obverse features the Roosevelt dime, Dr. Jonas Salk, and a dime board. Dr. Salk discovered the anti-polio vaccine and the dime board was used to collect contributions to the March of Dimes. The CFA recommended removing the dime board from the proposed obverse.
The recommended reverse features two fingers and a thumb grasping the edge of a 1946 Roosevelt dime to place it in a March of Dimes donation card. To the right is a pair of empty children’s polio braces. The large size of the fingers and card slot symbolizes the power of thousands who gave their pocket change to a good cause, according to the Mint, and the empty leg braces celebrate the victory over polio.
The CFA recommended removing the two fingers from the design and adding to the design the dime board panel mebmbers recommended be removed from the obverse.
The commemorative silver dollar, with a maximum authorization of 500,000 coins combined in Proof and Uncirculated versions, is authorized under provisions of the March of Dimes Commemorative Coin Act of 2012, Public Law 112-209.