The following is just a sample of what you can see on display from the Hillsdale College Archives and Special Collections on campus as of March 24, 2026. Contact us with any questions: [email protected].
Elizabeth Hoynak Archive Center
William C. Booker Correspondence Collection
The William C. Booker Correspondence Collection, currently on display in the Hoynak Archive Center, features 38 letters written by Booker to his wife, Sylvia, and their children during his service in the military from 1846 to 1862, during the Mexican-American War, the Third Seminole War, and the Civil War. The collection also includes four letters written by Booker's son, Charley, during his military service from 1866 to 1868. The family resided in Michigan for most of their lives. The letters offer an intimate look into the lives of a family separated by military service.
Heritage Room
America 250
In celebration of the United States Semiquincentennial, the Library’s Heritage Room currently features items that commemorate America’s founding in 1776. Items include letters written by Thomas Jefferson and General Nathanael Greene, both from the Dr. Allan G. Schmidt and Mrs. Carla S. Schmidt Collection of Historical Letters; Peter Tappen's military appointment certificate, a gift of Peter Ryerson; a Plan of Action at Breeds Hill map; and a silver serving spoon made by Paul Revere, a gift of William L. Newman.
Brother, Can You Spare a Disme?
Also currently on display in the Heritage Room is an exhibit from our coin collections exploring the history of the United States dime.
The first known proposal for a decimal-based coinage system in the United States was made in 1783 by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and David Rittenhouse. Hamilton, the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury, recommended the issuance of six such coins in 1791. Among the six recommended coins was a silver coin, “which shall be, in weight and value, one-tenth part of a silver unit or dollar.”
The subsequent Coinage Act of 1792, passed on April 2, 1792, authorized the mintage of a “disme”, one-tenth the silver weight and value of a dollar. From 1796 to 1837, dimes were composed of 89.24% silver and 10.76% copper, which required the coins to be physically very small to prevent their commodity value from exceeding face value.
In 1792, a limited number of dismes were minted, but never circulated. Some of these were struck in copper, which would indicate that the 1792 dismes were, in fact, pattern coins. The first dimes minted for circulation did not appear until 1796, due to a lack of demand for the coin and production problems at the U.S. Mint.
The word dime comes from the Old French disme, meaning “tithe” or “tenth part.” The dime is currently the only United States coin in general circulation that is not denominated in terms of dollars or cents.
Since its introduction in 1796, the dime has been issued in six different major types, excluding the 1792 “disme”.
- Draped Bust 1796-1807
- Capped Bust 1809-1837
- Seated Liberty 1837-1891
- Barber 1892-1916
- Winged Liberty Head (Mercury) 1916-1945
- Roosevelt 1946-present
Coins displayed were pulled from the Mike Moore Coin Collection and the Alwin C. Carus Coin Collection.