The Poe Collection
1952-D

Owner Comments:

The Franklin half dollar for the most part is a relatively low mintage series, especially when compared to modern circulating coinage. The mintages are high enough that none of the issues are rare by any stretch of the imagination, although the melting pots have undoubtedly claimed a large number of these. The lowest mintage is the 1955, although due to the efforts of promoters during the coin roll boom this date was often saved and is readily available. It also must be emphasized that mintage figures have little relation to availability in gem condition, or fully struck FBLs. Each date and mintmark has its own characteristic, as discussed throughout this set. The mintage figures thus don’t mean a whole lot to the FBL collector, but I’m posting them here in case you might find a use for them.

1948..... 3,006,814
1948-D.. 4,028,600
1949..... 5,614,000
1949-D.. 4,120,600
1949-S.. 3,744,000
1950..... 7,742,123
1950-D.. 8,031,600
1951..... 16,802,102
1951-D.. 9,475,200
1951-S.. 13,696,000
1952..... 21,192,093
1952-D.. 25,395,600
1952-S.. 5,526,000
1953..... 2,668,120
1953-D.. 20,900,400
1953-S.. 4,148,000
1954..... 13,188,203
1954-D.. 25,445,580
1954-S.. 4,993,400
1955..... 2,498,181
1956..... 4,032,000
1957..... 5,114,000
1957-D.. 19,996,850
1958..... 4,042,000
1958-D.. 23,962,412
1959..... 6,200,000
1959-D.. 13,053,750
1960..... 6,024,000
1960-D.. 18,215,812
1961..... 8,290,000
1961-D.. 20,276,442
1962..... 9,714,000
1962-D.. 35,473,281
1963..... 22,164,000
1963-D.. 67,069,292

One of the better struck Franklins of the entire series, the 1952D is the second in the series from 1951 to 1954 that comes very well struck from the Denver mint, what I like to call the four sisters. It has the second highest mintage in this short set at 25.395 million (the 1954D beats it by 50k), but about half of them qualify for FBL. Frank Chiong describes the luster on the 1952D as “the creamy variety,” meaning of course that the luster is usually subdued. Bagmarks are typically present in large quantities – apparently the dies were well handled and the coins were well struck, but the mint employees didn’t take the care to preserve their product. Color coins for this issue are very rare, with most being drab, mottled mint set toning.
My 1952D is a solid MS-64FBL example of this issue. The strike is among the strongest of all my Franklins – every detail that should be there is there. Marks are typical of what you would expect of a high end MS-64, none are really distracting, but there are enough to keep it from a 65. The luster is the typical subdued luster for this issue, but the color is pleasing. The entire coin has a very light golden hue, most likely from a mint set. There are no spectacular colors or anything, but given the fact that the 1952D is often hard to find eye appealing, I’ll take this. This was my very first slabbed Franklin and my very first NGC coin as well. Although the slab is scratched and ugly, it has quite a bit of sentimental value. I got it for $28 at FUN 2004.

Entertainment in 1952:
The Greatest Show on Earth, starring Charlton Heston and directed by Cecil B. DeMille, wins the Best Picture Oscar and launches Heston’s career.
The African Queen, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn, premieres.
Singin’ in the Rain, starring Gene Kelly, premieres. This is arguably one of the best movies ever made, and one of my favorites.