FDR Presidential $1 Coins in Rolls, Bags and Boxes

At noon today, Aug. 28, the United States Mint began selling the latest Presidential $1 Coin in rolls, bags and boxes. Honoring Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States serving from 1933 to 1945, it is the last of the dollar coins for 2014.

Previous releases this year paid tribute to former Presidents Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover.

Designs and Specifications of 2014 FDR Presidential $1 Coins

Obverses or "heads side" of the dollar depict a likeness of Roosevelt with surrounding inscriptions that read: FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, IN GOD WE TRUST, 32nd PRESIDENT and 1933-1945 for the years he served as commander-in-chief.

Presidential $1 Coins share common reverses featuring Don Everhart’s rendition of the Statue of Liberty with inscriptions of UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the denomination of $1.

Also common to Presidential $1 Coins are inscriptions incused around edges that show the year of minting, the mint mark for the U.S. Mint facility making it (‘P’ for the Philadelphia Mint and ‘D’ for the Denver Mint) and E PLURIBUS UNUM. Inscriptions will vary in location on these circulation quality coins, unlike the collectible proof versions.

Specifications of Presidential $1 Coins include a manganese-brass composition of 88.5% copper, 6% zinc, 3.5% manganese and 2% nickel. Each weighs 8.1 grams, has a diameter of 26.49 mm, or 1.043 inches, and a thickness of 2.0 mm.

25-Coin Rolls

Roosevelt dollars are available in rolls of 25 coins for a price of $32.95. Collectors can buy rolls from either the Philadelphia or Denver facilities.

Each roll comes in a wrapper of white paper with black edges. Printed on the paper are the words, "United States Mint," "www.usmint.gov," "Presidential $1 Coin," "Franklin D. Roosevelt" and "$25." There is also a mint mark of "P" or "D" in large print to notate the mint of origin.

These numismatic products are rolled by a mechanical process so there is no way to guarantee that a heads and tails side will be visible from both ends.

100-Coin Bags

Roosevelt dollars are also available in bags of 100 coins. These are priced at $111.95 and may be purchased with mint marks of Denver or Philadelphia.

Canvas bags are imprinted with bold letters that read, "U.S. Mint," "Dollars" and "$100.00."

Sewn onto the upper left corner is a tag that says, ""2014," "Presidential $1 Coin," "Franklin D. Roosevelt," "United States Mint" and either "P" or "D" for the city of origin. The U.S. Mint logo appears on the tag.

250-Coin Boxes

Finally, collectors looking for large numbers of dollars can do that by buying 250-coin boxes. These boxes are available for $275.95 and from either the Denver or Philadelphia Mints.

Boxes are labeled with stickers that read, "2014 Presidential $1 Coin," "Franklin D. Roosevelt," "$250," "United States Mint," "www.usmint.gov" and "P" or "D" for the mint of origin.

The U.S. Mint offered a 500-coin box in previous years but they were discontinued late last year due to declining collector interest.

Ordering FDR $1 Coins in Rolls, Bags and Boxes

Presidential $1 Coins in rolls, bags and boxes may be ordered from the U.S. Mint’s online catalog with the page for dollar products right here.

Telephone orders are accepted at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Also, hearing- and speech-impaired customers may place orders by calling 1-888-321-MINT (6468).

There are no ordering limits on any of the rolls, bags or boxes. Demand decides how many are produced since dollars are no longer made to circulate.

FDR Biography

Franklin D. Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882 to an already wealthy and powerful family. Both of his parents, James Roosevelt and Sara Ann Delano, came from wealth and established New York families. Roosevelt grew up in an environment of privilege attending Groton School where the vast majority of students came from prominent families with "old money."

Roosevelt would go on to join all but two of his 21 classmates in attending Harvard University. Recalling his time there, Roosevelt once said, "I took economics courses in college for four years, and everything I was taught was wrong." He graduated in 1903 with an A.B. in history.

After Harvard, Roosevelt attended Columbia Law School. He dropped out of the program after he passed the New York State Bar exam.

On March 17, 1905, Roosevelt married his fifth cousin once removed, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt. The couple would have six children despite the hardships of Franklin’s affairs.

In 1910, Franklin ran for the State Senate in New York where his cousin, Teddy, was still a prominent politician. Even though Teddy and Franklin were from opposite parties, the last name helped propel Franklin to victory. His support of Woodrow Wilson in the 1912 Presidential election led to his appointment as Assistant Secretary of the Navy.

While vacationing in Canada in August 1921, Roosevelt contracted polio which left him paralyzed from the waist down. That didn’t stop him from running for governor of New York in the 1928 election, which he narrowly won. He won by a much larger margin for his second term.

Franklin won the Democratic nomination for the Presidential ticket in the 1932 election, helped by the fact that he was governor of the most populous states and by a declining economy that hurt Republicans.

Shortly after his inauguration for a fourth term as President, on March 29, 1945, Roosevelt was sitting for a portrait painting when he stated, "I have a terrific pain in the back of my head." He then slumped over from a stroke. He died at 3:35 pm that afternoon.