Facts:
Sinnock's portrait of Franklin, modeled after a bust by 18th-century sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon, is bold and clean, contrasting sharply with the subtle, detailed depiction of Miss Liberty on the Walking Liberty coin it replaced. LIBERTY is inscribed above the right-facing portrait, IN GOD WE TRUST below and the date to Franklin's right. Tucked below Franklin's shoulder are Sinnock's initials, JRS.
The Liberty Bell on the reverse made sense as a complement to Franklin, since both have become closely identified not only with the nation's birth but also with the city of Philadelphia. Three inscriptions are arranged around the bell in the same sans serif style used on the obverse: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is above, HALF DOLLAR below and E PLURIBUS UNUM, in much smaller letters, to the left. To the right of the bell is a puny-looking eagle. This had been required by law on the half dollar since 1792 and was reaffirmed by the Coinage Act of 1873, which mandated the placement of an eagle on every U.S. silver coin larger than the dime. The eagle was added by Gilroy Roberts, who completed work on the coin following Sinnock's death in 1947.
Although Franklin half dollar mintages were modest by modern-day standards, the series contains no issues that are particularly rare. The production low point came in 1953, when the Philadelphia Mint struck just under 2.8 million examples; the peak occurred in 1963, when the Denver Mint made just over 67 million. Franklin halves also were minted in San Francisco. On branch-mint issues, the D or S mint mark appears above the bell on the reverse. Total mintage for the series, including proofs, was almost 498 million coins.
Because they are so plentiful, in circulated condition most Franklin halves bring little or no premium above their bullion value. A number of dates are elusive, however, in the higher mint-state grades, especially with fully defined "bell lines" near the Liberty Bell's bottom. Although the relatively low mintage 1949-D and 1950-D issues are considered "key" dates in the series, some coins with higher mintages, while common in lower grades, also command impressive premiums in Mint State-65 and above. These coins routinely came with weak strikes, and the scarcity of "gems" is compounded by the fact that few were carefully saved. Dates in this category include 1960-D, 1961-P and D and 1962-P and D. Proofs were issued every year from 1950 through 1963 as part of annual proof sets: over 15.8 million were made. Small numbers of proofs were struck with cameo contrast, an attractive frosted surface on the devices contrasted with a polished mirror-like appearance in the fields. These cameo coins can bring substantial premiums over the prices of ordinary proofs without such contrast.
A full set of Franklin halves consists of 35 different business strikes and 14 different proofs.
Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.
