1954-D Franklin Half Dollar
Acquire a 1954-D Franklin half dollar coin, minted in Denver. The Franklin series' popularity is partly due to its silver content as it is one of the last few series made of the precious metal before coins were routinely clad instead. The series was minted between 1948 and 1963, the usual 25-year run was cut short for the Kennedy half dollar, due to the untimely death of late U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The 1954-D Franklin was struck at the Denver mint.
History
The U.S. Mint had long wanted a depiction of Benjamin Franklin on a coin and in 1947, Mint director Nellie Tayloe Ross tasked her chief engraver John R. Sinnock with the 50 cent piece designs. He based these on earlier work but Sinnock's death meant Gilroy Roberts completed them. The Commission of Fine Arts was asked for its advisory opinion on the coin but it disliked the small eagle, seen on the reverse, and thought the crack in the Liberty Bell, also on the reverse, would lead to ridicule. The Mint disregarded this advice and the Franklin half was struck regularly until 1963.
Design specifics
A side profile cut off at the shoulder is on the obverse of the coin, and above the yoke of the Liberty Bell on the reverse is a small mintmark. The Latin phrase "E pluribus unum" is embossed to the left of the bell, which means "Out of many, one" the nation's motto. The coin is made of 90% silver and 10% copper with reeded edges and is 30mm in diameter.
1954-D Franklin half dollar value and mintage
While 1954 is one the Franklin half dollar key dates, because it is the year a proof was minted in Philadelphia, the Denver coin enjoys a 25,445,580 mintage, which is valued, in a certified mint state, at just under $20, although uncirculated and gem conditions are rarer and have sold for $3,738.
