In 1948, World War II
had given way to an uneasy peace-a "Cold War,"
as presidential adviser Bernard Baruch so aptly named
the new climate of international tension. The year
also witnessed the death of baseball legend Babe Ruth,
the birth of the State of Israel and, with his presidential
election upset of Thomas E. Dewey, a new lease on
life in the White House for Harry S Truman.
In 1948, an important
change took place in United States coinage as well,
when the Franklin half dollar made its debut. Its
introduction completed the conversion of U.S. coin
designs from allegorical figures to portraits of famous
Americans. It also rang down the curtain on an era
that many regard as the golden age of U. S. coinage
art. The Walking Liberty half dollar, last struck
in 1947, was the final precious-metal coin remaining
in production from the early 20th-century period that
spawned the "Mercury" dime, Standing Liberty
quarter and Saint-Gaudens double eagle.
Mint Director Nellie
Tayloe Ross had contemplated a coin honoring Benjamin
Franklin ever since seeing a U.S. Mint medal prepared
in Franklin's honor in 1933 by John R. Sinnock, the
Mint's chief sculptor-engraver. Evidence suggests
that Ross might have made the change in the early
1940s, when the half dollar's design, used for the
statutory minimum of 25 years, became eligible for
replacement. Although escalating production demands
occasioned by World War II postponed Ross' plans,
she showed her enthusiasm for the project by directing
Sinnock to design a Franklin coin on a contingency
basis. It would be hard to fault Director Ross for
her choice of Ben Franklin as a U.S. coinage subject.
Of all the Founding Fathers, Franklin very likely
enjoyed the greatest stature among his contemporaries,
not only in this country but also abroad. He was justly
renowned as a printer, publisher, author, inventor,
scientist and diplomat, and he played a pivotal role
in helping the colonies gain their independence by
securing vital aid from France.
In a speech at the unveiling
of the Franklin half dollar, Ross recalled that people
had urged her to place Franklin's portrait on the
cent because he was identified so closely with the
maxim "A penny saved is twopence clear"
(often misquoted as "A penny saved is a penny
earned"). Ross explained her choice of the half
dollar: "You will agree, I believe, that the
fifty-cent piece, being larger and of silver, lends
itself much better to the production of an impressive
effect," she declared.
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.
Understandably, the federal
Commission of Fine Arts (an advisory body) took issue
with the eagle's size. Oddly enough, they also disapproved
of displaying the crack in the Liberty Bell, arguing
that "to show this might lead to puns and to
statements derogatory to United States coinage."
Although the Commission recommended a design competition,
the Treasury Department approved Sinnock's models
without change.
Years later, Sinnock
was accused of modeling his version of the Liberty
Bell, without proper credit, on a sketch by artist
John Frederick Lewis. The pilfering first occurred
in 1926, when Sinnock apparently used the sketch in
fashioning his design for the commemorative half dollar
marking the sesquicentennial of U.S. independence.
His Franklin half dollar reverse design was patterned,
in turn, on that earlier work. Numismatic reference
books now credit Lewis belatedly for his role.
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 mintmark 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. Because it is so compact and
easily affordable in less-than-pristine grades, the
series is widely collected by date and mint. Those
with deeper pockets who love a challenge seek to assemble
date-and-mint sets in MS-65 and above or collections
of high-grade proof Franklins with deep cameo contrast.
Points on the design to first show wear are Franklin's
cheek, shoulder and hair behind the ear and the lettering
and lines on the Liberty Bell.
Franklin half dollars
were made for just 16 years. The series was cut short
at the end of 1963, when John F. Kennedy's shocking
assassination led to the creation of a new half dollar
memorializing the martyred president.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Diameter: 30.6 millimeters
Weight: 12.50 grams composition: .900 silver, .100
copper Edge: Reeded Net weight: .36169 ounce pure
silver
BIBLOGRAPHY:
Breen, Walter, Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia
of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday,
New York, 1988. Ehrmantraut, Jack, Jr., An Analysis
of Gem Franklin Half Dollars, Five Seasons Publishers,
Hiawatha, IA, 1983. Taxay, Don, The U.S. Mint and
Coinage, Arco Publishing Co., New York, 1966. Tomaska,
Rick, The Complete Guide to Franklin Half Dollars,
DLRC Press, Virginia Beach, VA, 1997. Vermeule, Cornelius,
Numismatic Art in America, The Belknap Press of Harvard
University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1971. Yeoman, R.S.,
A Guide Book of United States Coins, 47th Edition,
Western Publishing Co., Racine, WI, 1993.
