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The Franklin
Half Dollar Ben Franklin has the distinction of being the only non-president to grace a modern day circulating coin and paper note. Why does he have this honor? Ben Franklin was an incredible individual. Almost everyone knows about his experiments with electricity, but not everyone knows of the other contributions he made to our great country. Born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 17th, 1706, Benjamin Franklin became an apprentice in his brother's printing shop only to run away to Philadelphia, where he opens his own printing office in 1731. After founding the first circulating library in 1731, he began printing the annual Poor Richard, An Almanack in 1732. He was appointed Postmaster of Philadelphi in 1737 and 10 years later began his experiments with electricity and performed his famous kite experiment in 1742. Elected to the Continental Congress in 1775, he submitted the Articles of Confederation of United Colonies and signs the Declaration of Independence in 1776. His work didn't stop there as he became the Minister to France af few years later and goes on to aid the U.S. in signing many important treaties with otehr countries. Benjamin Franklin returns to his beloved city of Philadelphia where he dies at the age of 84 on April 17, 1790. The half dollar designed by John R. Sinnock is a definite symbol of patriotism with Franklin on the obverse and the Liberty Bell on the reverse. These are not scarce and their attraction to collectors is the ease with which a set may be completed and their relatively inexpensive price. According to a Coin World article, it ranks as one of the top five or six most popular U.S. series. Here is what a Coin World article from October 14, 1996 says: "A third reason to collect Franklins centers around the issue of availability. Specifically, there is a very limited number of MS64 (and up) Franklins available for today's collectors. As of recent population reports by the three major grading services, the number of certified MS64 through MS67 Franklins graded for the entire series was as follows: MS64 - 35,000 (approximately) Compare this to the Morgan dollar series, where nearly 1 million coins have been graded MS64 and higher, and you realize that the Franklins are about 15 times scarcer in high grade!" A later issue of Coin World (November 11, 1996) has some interesting notes regarding grading of this series: "...Denver Mint Franklins tend to have more abrasions than those struck in Philadelphia or San Francisco." Here are the mintages for the Franklin series taken A Guide Book Of United States Coins (The Red Book), 1998: 1948 - 3,006,814 This series also has several well-known errors, the most expensive of which is the 1961 Doubled Die Proof with a Red Book value of $1200!! I hope you have enjoyed this brief look at a beautiful series. Start yours today! Regards, |
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