HYDE PARK, N.Y. (AP) – A proposal to replace the image of Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the dime with Ronald Reagan’s likeness was assailed Monday as a move that “defies logic” by a not-for-profit group that promotes Roosevelt’s legacy.

“The idea that FDR be removed from the dime defies logic and is an affront to the president’s place in modern American history,” said Christopher Breiseth, president of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute.

Breiseth said Roosevelt was connected to the dime after comedian Eddie Kantor in 1939 urged Americans to send dimes to the White House in an effort to raise money for the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which Roosevelt founded in 1938.

“In one month, the White House received $85,000 in ten cent pieces, linking FDR with the coin inexorably,” Breiseth said.

Supporters of the “Ronald Reagan Dime Act” said Roosevelt and his government-expanding New Deal represented decades past, while Reagan’s conservative, anti-communist administration ushered in society as it exists today. Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind, said he has collected 89 co-sponsors for his bill to mint a new dime featuring Reagan.

Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass, claims 80 co-sponsors on an opposing bill affirming Congress’ support for keeping Roosevelt on the dime.

Triggering the dispute is a TV movie that depicts a doddering Reagan dominated by his wife, Nancy. The movie is being aired by Showtime after CBS canceled its plans to show it last month in response to pressure by Reagan supporters.

The Roosevelt institute supports other efforts to acknowledge Reagan’s accomplishments, Breiseth said.

On Friday Nancy Reagan expressed her opposition to the effort to put her husband’s image on the dime, saying it would be wrong to take away an honor given to another president.

The dime has borne Roosevelt’s profile since 1946, a year after his death.