I was digging through some old boxes the other day – boxes that must have come from my grandparent’s house years ago – and I came across a jar of coins. I set them aside, initially, but then was thinking “just what are those coins?” and I emptied the jar. It was full of a coin that I’ve never seen before: on the front is a portrait of Ben Franklin and on the back is the Liberty Bell, complete with the infamous crack. A few web-searches later, I determined what I had was a collection of Franklin half dollar coins!
Knowing absolutely nothing about these coins, I set out to do some research, starting with the Wikipedia page(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Half_Dollar) on the coins. It turns out that the Franklin half dollar was produced by the U.S. Mint between 1948 and 1963; production ceased with the death of President Kennedy in 1963 and the creation of the Kennedy half dollar. The coins are 90% pure silver and were produced at several U.S. mints, including in Denver, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.
There is, now, a significant demand among coin collectors – known as numismatists – for the Franklin half dollar, especially those which are in excellent or “mint condition” and those which have some odd quirks due to the minting process. Many of the coins were melted for their silver content, therefore decreasing the numbers of the Franklin half dollar available to collectors. According to an article on NumisMaster.com, many of these coins were worth more for the silver content (called the “melt value”) than for their collectability, at least in 1962.
As for determining the worth of a Franklin half dollar – I’d initially guessed that they’d all be worth the same – apparently that depends on the “grade” of the coin. As for determining the actual grade of each Franklin half dollar that’s now in my possession, I’m currently researching that. I found a website, NumisMedia.com, and there’s a whole page devoted to the Franklin half dollar(http://www.numismedia.com/fmv/prices/fnkhlv/pricesgd.shtml) coins – the year, the grades, and the value to collectors.
Another web page – from Coin Community (http://www.coincommunity.com/us_half_dollars/franklin.asp) – also devoted to the Franklin half dollar, explains a little more about the grading system of these collectable coins.
I’m going to continue my research into the history and worth of the Franklin half dollar and then I’m going to share the news with my family and we’ll decide what we want to do with this great find. I’m thinking that we’ll keep the jar – and each Franklin half dollar – in the family, though and pass them along to the coming generations.
Knowing absolutely nothing about these coins, I set out to do some research, starting with the Wikipedia page(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Half_Dollar) on the coins. It turns out that the Franklin half dollar was produced by the U.S. Mint between 1948 and 1963; production ceased with the death of President Kennedy in 1963 and the creation of the Kennedy half dollar. The coins are 90% pure silver and were produced at several U.S. mints, including in Denver, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.
There is, now, a significant demand among coin collectors – known as numismatists – for the Franklin half dollar, especially those which are in excellent or “mint condition” and those which have some odd quirks due to the minting process. Many of the coins were melted for their silver content, therefore decreasing the numbers of the Franklin half dollar available to collectors. According to an article on NumisMaster.com, many of these coins were worth more for the silver content (called the “melt value”) than for their collectability, at least in 1962.
As for determining the worth of a Franklin half dollar – I’d initially guessed that they’d all be worth the same – apparently that depends on the “grade” of the coin. As for determining the actual grade of each Franklin half dollar that’s now in my possession, I’m currently researching that. I found a website, NumisMedia.com, and there’s a whole page devoted to the Franklin half dollar(http://www.numismedia.com/fmv/prices/fnkhlv/pricesgd.shtml) coins – the year, the grades, and the value to collectors.
Another web page – from Coin Community (http://www.coincommunity.com/us_half_dollars/franklin.asp) – also devoted to the Franklin half dollar, explains a little more about the grading system of these collectable coins.
I’m going to continue my research into the history and worth of the Franklin half dollar and then I’m going to share the news with my family and we’ll decide what we want to do with this great find. I’m thinking that we’ll keep the jar – and each Franklin half dollar – in the family, though and pass them along to the coming generations.
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