Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Coin Bank
Artifact IDMO 1942.203.29
Object Type
Bank, Still
Maker
Unknown
Date1942
Mediummetal
Dimensionsoverall H 2 1/4 in x W 8 1/2 in x D 2 1/2 in (5.7 cm x 21.6 cm x 6.4 cm )
Physical DescriptionA miniature aerial practice bomb converted into a still coin bank. Inscribed on the side: President Franklin D. Roosevelt / Jan. 30, 1942.
Historical NoteJunior officers at the San Diego Naval Air Station converted an aerial practice bomb into this coin bank, filled it with $15 in dimes for polio research, and presented it to President Roosevelt as a birthday gift on January 30, 1942. FDR created the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (which became known as the March of Dimes) in 1938 to support the polio rehabilitation center he had established in Warm Springs, Georgia and aid polio victims around the nation. The Foundation urged Americans to send their loose change to the President in a “march of dimes.” The March of Dimes supported the research and development of a polio vaccine by Jonas Salk in 1955 that eradicated the disease throughout most of the world.
This coin bank is on display in THE MARCH OF DIMES AND FDR exhibit in the Museum’s FOUNDATIONS OF A PUBLIC LIFE gallery.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteDeposited at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 25, 1942. It was donated as a bequest of FDR to the Library in 1947.
Credit LineEstate of Franklin D. Roosevelt
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesGift Items and Commemorative Artifacts (National Archives Identifier 782690)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.In Collection(s)
On view
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