Owner Comments:
Because of their low popularity and status as a modern, it is often difficult to find Franklin half dollars. The easiest to find are lower grade samples in 2x2s that dealers will have in albums. These are a great, inexpensive way to get familiar with the Franklin half dollar, before spending large amounts of money on higher grade, certified, or FBL coins. But once you are ready to move up in the Franklin world…. Good luck. Its really hit or miss trying to find nice specimens, especially of a certain date or mintmark. You really just have to keep an eye on a bunch of different places, and be ready to bid when one comes along, because it won’t be coming again any time soon. That being said, here are a few of the places I’ve had the most luck:
Ebay: You’ll notice a lot of my coins came from Ebay. There is just no other place that matches the vast multitude of buyers and sellers on Ebay. This means that there is always a chance that something exciting will pop up. Usually, these pieces will go for a fair price, but every now and then you can snag a great deal. Just be careful, because many sellers don’t have the greatest descriptions or pictures. What looks like a beautiful coin on the auction may turn out to be a real stinker, with pictures that carefully disguised any problems. The other problem is that you have to wade through an enormous amount of junk to get the gems. I’ve had very good luck with the seller Great Southern Coins, several of my harder to find coins came from them. I’ve also bought a few things from zinzimir, who also has a bunch of beautiful Franklin’s in the current #6 set on here.
Other auction houses: Heritage and Teletrade generally have at least a few Franklin’s in their auctions. Heritage generally has higher end stuff, but both are reputable companies.
R and I coins: ricoins.com This is Rick Tomaska’s website. If you want to go drool over some eye candy, go there. His Franklin’s are rather expensive, but you can’t beat him for eye appeal. And there is no doubt that Tomaska knows about Franklins – he wrote the book, after all!
David Lawrence Rare Coins: davidlawrence.com These guys are sort of a mixed bag. You can find some really good stuff, but they have a lot of not so great stuff as well.
Coin shows: Generally speaking, unless it’s a large show, you aren’t going to find too many Franklin’s at most shows. Since they aren’t too popular and real estate at a show is at a premium, many dealers don’t carry too many Franklin’s. You’ll find common stuff, but not very many NGC FBLs. Every once in a while, a few will just happen to be sitting in a dealer’s case, but even at FUN (one of the largest shows in the world), Full Bell Line Franklins are hard to find. PCGS FBLs are a little easier to find if they meet your criteria, but I only buy NGC FBLs, especially sight unseen.
Good luck hunting, and let me know if you have any other favorite dealers or sources.
The 1953P has the second lowest mintage of the entire Franklin series, although it has not been promoted quite as heavily as the 1955. This issue is very scarce in FBL – it is one of the poorest struck dates in the whole series, and rivals the 61, 62, and 63 P mint Franklins in difficulty. The 1953P more often closely resembles its sister San Francisco minted coins. Ehrmantraut says that no FBL coins came from mint sets – and theorizes that the entire mintage of 15k mint set Franklins probably came from a single die with low pressure. Luster is generally average, although Chiong calls it of the “frosty/grainy” variety. Bagmarks also tend to be heavier than normal. Good color is very scarce on the 1953P, especially on a well struck coin. Finding one of these is truly difficult!
My 1953P is a fully brilliant, moderately well struck, flashy coin. The bell lines are discernable all the way across, but the overall look of the coin is somewhat weak. There is, however, a surprising lack of high point pitting on this coin – indicative of a full strike. The luster is bright and flashy, although a little grainy as Chiong mentions. A fair number of bagmarks are present, but it is a solid 64. The coin is also fully white – not even a water spot is present. I’m guessing this coin has been dipped sometime in its life, but it was done well enough and left a decent looking coin (the mark around his mouth is on the slab). I paid $170 for this coin on Ebay in December, 2008, from greatsoutherncoin. This was definitely a fair price for a coin as scarce and difficult to find as this!
Notable events in 1953:
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Kruschev, and Queen Elizabeth II all take office in their respective countries.
The polio vaccine, DNA, and the hydrogen bomb are all announced.
The first Playboy and James Bond novel are both published.
The first Corvette is built.