The Poe Collection
1957-D


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 1957 D
Grade: NGC MS 65 FBL
Owner: physics-fan3.14
 
Winning Set: The Poe Collection
Date Added: 3/6/2006
Research: See NGC's Census Report for this Coin

Owner's Description

There doesn’t seem to be a consensus at all among the authors on this date. Ehrmantraut says that luster tends to be above average and strike is “way above average.” Chiong says that original rolls yield coins with “less than average strike and luster, and plenty of bag marks and water spots,” and then estimates that almost a third of gems will be FBL. Tomaska says that strike and luster are generally very good. Tomaska does clarify the strike issue somewhat, though – although any D mint issue is going to have a generally better strike than a P or S mint issue, the 1957D has a somewhat soft strike for a Denver mint coin. Again, it serves to remind the reader that by this time, the master had suffered a few years of considerable wear, and so even the most fully struck coins of these later years did not measure up to the early coins. By this point, much of the hair detail had been lost, although the three wisps of hair by Franklin’s ear should still be discernable, and the eagle’s wings and lettering above Pass and Stow are only visible on the crispest coins struck from very fresh dies. <br /><br />The years 1957 and 1958 mark a high point for color coins in the Franklin series, in my opinion. While many drab golden or brown mint set coins exist, these years seem to be the easiest to find extraordinary color coins. Almost all of these came from the mint sets. I don’t know what the mint did differently these years, but I sure do appreciate it. <br /><br />My coin is a “just barely there” MS-65 FBL. I say that because there seem to be a large number of hits and dings for the lofty 65 grade, although it is no doubt helped by the good strike and eye appeal of the toning. The strike seems to be above average for a 1957D, although of course this is nothing compared to the superlative strikes of the 1952D or 1948 issues. Luster is average on this coin; it is better on the reverse. The toning is rather pleasing on this coin, but nothing compared to some of the really spectacular coins from this date. This coin has a very wide range of colors - hints of blue surround Franklin’s bust, fading to greens and yellows to the right. Behind the bust and all around the rim on the obverse is a fiery orange, fading at the very edge to a deep red. The reverse is much more subtle, but the entire reverse appears to be a light golden pink color that I couldn’t capture in my photos, fading at the very edge in the lower left quadrant to the same oranges and reds that are on the obverse. I inexplicably won this coin on Ebay for only $35, with no bids against me. I don’t know why this happened, because toners usually sell for good premiums. I estimate that this coin is worth much more than I paid for it!<br /><br />Entertainment in 1957:<br />David Lean’s epic “Bridge on the River Kwai” dominated the box office and took Best Picture. <br />“Raintree County,” starring Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor, attempts to recreate the magic of “Gone With the Wind.” Although it is a good movie, and Elizabeth Taylor is absolutely gorgeous, nothing can match the splendor of Margaret Mitchell’s epic. <br />“The Seventh Seal,” Ingmar Bergman’s Swedish movie about a crusader who plays a game of chess with Death, premieres. In my opinion, this is the second greatest foreign film of all time, behind only “Seven Samurai.” I think “Le Passion de Jeanne D’Arc,” made in France in 1928, probably ranks third on that list. <br />“Wild Strawberries,” “The Spirit of St. Louis,” “Funny Face,” and “Jailhouse Rock” also premiere.

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