Posted 14 years ago
kristin
(14 items)
Of the coin collection that my dad had, this was the oldest Ben Franklin half dollar I could find (1951). Never even knowing this design existed, I was fascinated with this coin.
Benjamin Franklin Half Dollar | ||
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![[Lot of 5] Franklin Half Dollar - 90% Silver - Choose How Many Lots of 5!](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/LugAAOSwEAphLQC0/s-l225.jpg)
You know, the Franklin half dollar was not a very popular coin. A lot of people thought it was ugly. I actually like it.
I like it a lot too. I always thought Ben Franklin looked so happy-hearted so it made me smile looking at this.
This is my favorite coin series in silver. In fact my Franklin set #1 won the award for "Best Presented Set" at the NGC Collectors Society for the 2010 year that just ended. Along with that, I won the "Journal Author" of the year award for this same past year, having won the same award for 2008 also. Not wanting to "toot my own horn" but just wanting to share my knowledge of the hobby I truly love and for this particular coin series in general. Google that site (NGC Collectors Society) if you get the chance. It's a great place for someone like yourself just starting out. My user name there is WKF which is my initials and would be what you would look for in case you wanted to check out some of my some 4-500 "graded coins" or if you wanted to read some of my work. Again congrats on your start into "Numismatics" and good luck to you and yours in all that you set out to do. Real quickly, most past years and every year since 1950 the U S mint has minted coins with what is known as a "business strike" finish and also minted the same coins with a "Proof" finish. (the proofs are much shinier and most have "frosted" devices and "mirrored" background fields. The former were minted for general circulation and the latter mainly for collectors. The Franklin half I will post today is a gorgeous example of a "proof strike" from the year 1956. All Franklin halves were minted starting in 1948 through 1963 when the Kennedy half took over. The proofs however were only struck starting in 1950 and for the Franklin, ended in 1963. Sorry for the rambling. So much to say but only so much room before "data overload". regards, Kerry