Owner Comments:
This first coin is one of the inspirations for this thematic project of coins featuring infants. The March of Dimes was founded by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (who is pictured on the coin) in 1938 as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. The initial goal of the foundation was to combat the polio epidemic which was a major health threat at this time in history. The name the March of Dimes came from a 1938 fundraising effort by Eddie Cantor, a major radio and screen star at the time. While I find Mr. Cantor's radio and screen work, which derived most of its humor from harmful and offensive racial and ethnic stereotypes, reprehensible and I further think that he was a very nasty person in most areas of his life based on what I've read about him, this fundraising effort was one good thing that the man did. Cantor's effort led to the raising of over $85,000 ($1,504,529 in 2018 dollars). After this, The March of Dimes became the unofficial but widely used name for the organization, which funded the Salk polio vaccines, which is named after its inventor Dr. Jonas Salk, who appears on the obverse of this coin with President Roosevelt.
In time, the scope of the March of Dimes widened to fight any threats to the health of babies and their mothers, a mission it continues to work towards today. In 2007, the March of Dimes Foundation became the official name of the organization. I love the reverse of this coin, which shows a sweet little baby cuddled in an adult hand, keeping the little person safe and comforted. It is a great allegory for the mission of the March of Dimes Foundation.