$.50 Silver Half Dollar Franklin

The Franklin half-dollar coin was minted from 1948 to 1963.  The coin contain .36 ounces of 90% silver.  This coin pictures Benjamin Franklin on the obverse and the Liberty Bell on the reverse. A small eagle to the right of the bell is also present as necessitated by law at the time.  Ironically, Franklin himself had opposed the selection of the eagle as the US national symbol, preferring the turkey as a “more noble bird.”  

Coins without a mintmark were minted in Philadelphia, whereas those with a “D” were minted in Denver and with an “S” in San Francisco. The mintmark on specimens having one is visible on the reverse side centered above the bell yoke. Engraver John R. Sinnock’s initials appear at Franklin’s shoulder on the obverse. Large quantities of the Franklin half-dollar were melted as silver bullion shortly after 1964, when the intrinsic value exceeded the face value of U.S. silver coinage.  

A bill rushed through Congress after the assassination of President Kennedy, resulting in replacement of the Franklin half-dollar with the current Kennedy half-dollar in February 1964, nine years before the design would otherwise have been eligible for a change. Approximately 510 million Franklin halves were minted during the period 1948 to 1963.  

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