Have you just finished your complete collection of Mercury dimes or Indian Head cents and are wondering what to do next? I have a suggestion for a collection that is not too extensive and is not too expensive—the Franklin half dollar.
Franklin halves were introduced in 1948 and were minted through 1963. They had a relatively short run as a coin because of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The half dollar introduced in 1964 to honor him cut short old Ben’s run on the half dollar coin.
Why would this set be fairly easy to put together?
First, it only ran for 16 years. A complete set of all dates and mint marks runs only 35 coins. Proof coins would add only 14 more coins to your set. Circulated Franklins can be had at just about the silver melt price. That means many of these can be found for only ten to twelve dollars or so.
Second, there were many of these minted. Even of the rarest date, there were still over three million minted. Many dates and mintmarks had 5 to 25 million made. Only in 1962 and 1963 were there mintage numbers of 10 to 67 million. (1963’s production was dwarfed by the 1964 Kennedy half, with over 400 million minted!)
Third, for a little more challenge to your endeavor, to collect these in “mint state” grades is not super expensive. Many of these can be found in top-tier grading services holders for as little as $30 to $40 for Mint State 64 coins. Very few would top $100 in that grade. The proof coins are the same way. Except for the 1950-1953 proof coins, which would totalabout $750 plus, the other ten would average $20 to $40.
There are some collecting challenges, however, to putting together a premium set of Franklins.
One is inherent in their design. The large smooth fields surrounding Ben and the Liberty Bell, along with the large surface area of both of these figures, lend themselves to bag marks. There is no special care exercised in the minting of our coins; they are kicked out of the press on top of each other into bins and then prepared for shipping. “Bag marks” are the result of this rough treatment. The fewer the bag marks that are present, the higher the grade.
Minting coins is an art, too. Because of the precise striking pressures needed to make fully struck coins, many have less than stellar strikes. Those coins with terrific strikes are said to have “full bell lines.” This is the two rows of three lines at the bottom of the Liberty Bell. If those are distinct and unbroken from one side of the bell to the other, they are designated “FBL” and command a premium. Many times, with magnification, on FBL Franklins one can see who manufactured the bell imprinted on the side of it!
It is not unusual for any coin series to have an oddball coin or two that causes a collector to pull his or her hair out over it! Franklins are no exception, and that issue is found on the little eagle next to the bell. When the Franklin was introduced, by law, an eagle was required on the reverse. The designer stuck a small eagle on there so that the bell would the focal point of the coin. For some of the coins in the late fifties, the mint used the wrong reverse die. For example, the most expensive proof coin is the 1956 Proof Type 1. It is distinguished from the Type 2 by this eagle. The more desirable eagle has 4 wingtips on his right wing that extend past his perch. The more common eagle has only 3 wingtips that extend in this manner. One of these Type 1s would cost you about $300 and up, unless you found one that the seller has overlooked! That is called “cherrypicking” and is a topic for another column!
Finally, these coins are 90% silver. Silver is a good investment; what you might put together for $700 now may be worth three times that as the price of silver climbs. But, always remember to collect what strikes (pun intended) your fancy!
The Brown County Coin Club meets on the second Tuesday of each month, at 6:30 pm, at Principally Coins and Metal Detectors, at 3002 Early Blvd, in Early. Meetings provide a great opportunity to learn all about coin collecting.We hope to see you on September 10 for our next meeting. Call Robert Rollins at 325-201-6390 or me at 325-217-4129 for more information.
