Kerry's Franklin Set #1
1955


Obverse
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Reverse
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Coin Details

  

Set Details
Origin/Country: United States
Design Description: HALF DOLLARS - FRANKLIN
Item Description: 50C 1955
Grade: NGC MS 66 FBL
Owner: W.K.F.
 
Winning Set: Kerry's Franklin Set #1
Date Added: 8/30/2010
Research: Currently not available

Owner's Description

The obverse of this high grade Franklin is mostly a typical gray mint set toning but has some nice colors too. There are many shades of pink and purple, with some light green shades. The reverse however has some splashes of pinks, oranges and green along with a purple periphery that encompasses over half the rim.<br /> I sure would have liked for this 66-FBL coin to be a "brilliant white" example as they along with the "full color" coins are very rare. Rick Tomaska who wrote the bible on the Franklin half, says that un-toned brilliant coins of this year are out-numbered by toned ones by a 50 to 1 margin.<br /> I have #6 1955 Franklin halves of which 3 are "brite-white" MS-65 FBL and I own two that are MS-65 FBL toned and this lone MS-66 FBL that is toned as well. This is the "lowest mintage" date of the series with less than 2.5 million coins produced. The vast majority of those have been decimated by the great "silver melts" of the 80's and the one going on now in 2009-2010. This is a scarce coin period but coupled with the beginning low mintage and very few that grade this high, this 66 is one rare coin "population wise".<br />NGC has seen quite a few "total coins" in "full bell lines" with 1,128 coins graded to date. But of all these full bell line examples, well over 700 are MS-64 FBL and lower. NGC says they have graded only 31 coins in this grade and have graded a mere #2 coins one point higher in 67-FBL.<br />This represents one more space filled with a very high grade Franklin that I feel very lucky to own. Since I own several of this date, the "brite white" 65-FBL this coin replaced, was moved all the way to my Franklin set #6. That '55 in set 6 is by far, my second best example of this date. One "can-not" own too many high quality 1955's in 65-FBL and beyond.

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