Behind the Dime: The Real Story of Selma Burke’s Roosevelt Portrait

Every American has held a dime… but most have no idea that the face etched into that coin wasn’t created by the man who received the credit.

It came from the hands of a Black woman sculptor—Selma Hortense Burke.

In 1944, she won a national competition to create a relief portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She was invited to the White House for a sketching session, where she studied him closely: his expressions, his posture, his presence. Her portrait captured the vitality and humanity of a president carrying the weight of a nation in wartime.

But when the new dime design was released, it bore an unmistakable resemblance to her relief, yet only John R. Sinnock, the U.S. Mint’s Chief Engraver, received credit.

For decades, Burke’s contribution was disputed, ignored, or downplayed.

But truth is persistent.

Historians, artists, and Burke’s own testimony confirmed what the evidence shows: her work inspired the dime we carry today.

This story isn’t just about a coin. It’s about recognition. It’s about the erasure of Black contribution. And it’s about restoring what should never have been taken.

With Graven Images, my mission is not only to tell Selma’s story, but to illuminate every shadow where she once stood unseen.

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