Owner Comments:
Benjamin Franklin was one of the most important of our Founding Fathers, and has been called “the only US President to have never been US President.” His influence was extraordinary as an author, politician, scientist, philosopher, inventor, and diplomat. He was one of the five men assigned to write the Declaration of Independence, and he was influential at the Constitutional Convention. He was an Ambassador to France, where he helped secure France’s aid in our Revolution, and was a signatory at the Treaty of Paris.
His scientific efforts include significant work in electricity. Franklin was the first to recognize that electricity was positive and negative charge, and discovered the conservation of charge. He also did pioneering work in refrigeration, meteorology, and oceanography. He invented the Franklin stove, bifocal glasses, lightning rods, and many other things.
Franklin made his fortune as a printer. He was born in Boston in 1706 where he had an apprenticeship at his brother’s print shop, but he ran away to Philadelphia as a teenager and considered that city home for the rest of his life (despite extended periods living in London and Paris). By 1730, Franklin had opened his own print shop and published the Pennsylvania Gazette. The editorials in this, as well as the homilies of “Poor Richards Almanac,” which Franklin started in 1733, established his reputation for simple wisdom and good living, and garnered him great respect. It was during this time that Franklin also started the first public library in America and the first volunteer fire brigade in Pennsylvania.
Franklin was a strong advocate of the need for paper currency in the colonies. He wrote an important 1729 treatise on the subject “A Modest Enquiry into the Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency,” after which he was awarded the contract to print money for Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Throughout his life, Franklin would be closely involved with various currency issues. He also designed the famous Libertas Americna medal. Franklin unsuccessfully advocated to the Continental Congress that after Congressional medals had been awarded and the dies cut, copper coinage should be struck from them to reduce the cost and spread the ideals of heroism and virtue among the people.
Franklin died in 1790 at the age of 84. He has been memorialized on countless medals, plaques, buttons, coins, bills and other items. He currently graces our $100 bill, and is the center of focus of the Franklin Half Dollar, our present topic of discussion.
The 1950D seems to be one of the more difficult issues in this series to find a pleasant example of, despite the generous mintage of about 8 million. The 1950D is widely regarded as a semi-key in the series, especially if you are trying to assemble a 65FBL set. The 1950D has almost universally dull luster, with few exceptions. Chiong describes it as “the creamy frosty variety.” It certainly suffers greatly in comparison to the amazing luster of its sister coin, the 1950P. Like the 1949D, bagmarks are a big problem for this issue. To further complicate matters, the strike on the 1950D is probably the worst of all the early D mint Franklins. Of course, a bad strike for the Denver mint is still much better than anything the San Francisco mint put out. The final nail in the coffin of the 1950D is the notable absence of good color coins: there were no official government mint sets that year, so the number one source of attractive rainbow coins is absent. Most coins with color on them are of the dull grey/brown variety.
Despite the difficulty in finding a great 1950D, I managed to find one that is superb quality for the year. My coin has well above average luster for the issue, with few marks worth mentioning. The strike, while not strong, is average for the date, and definitely qualifies as FBL – with no marks on the lines. The toning is interesting, with hints of multicolored areas clinging to the devices. While not possessing the great multicolored rainbows of other coins, I think the toning on this coin is very interesting. Indeed, that is one of the main reasons I bought it. The brown clings to the devices, highlighted by hints of green and red in places. I think it makes for an eye appealing and startling effect. I bought this coin for a very reasonable $300 on Ebay in June, 2010 from a well known toned coin dealer, greattoning.
Entertainment in 1950:
Disney’s “Cinderella” dominates the box office.
The great drama “All About Eve” wins Best Picture, Director and Supporting Actor.
The classic film noir “Sunset Boulevard” comes out, and Orson Welles’ classic “The Third Man” is released in the US.