Franklin Half Dollar

Above, some Franklin half dollars in my collection. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For some reason, there are coin collectors who shun the Franklin half dollar and there are others who covet them. Since I like the coin, I guess I am in the latter category.

Lucky for me, I found several Franklin half dollars in a strongbox last year.

CoinWeek has posted an article on the history of the Franklin half dollar and its significance in U.S. coinage.

It begins with:

The Franklin half dollar was a silver half dollar coin produced by the United States Mint from 1948 to 1963. The coin featured the likeness of founding father Benjamin Franklin on the obverse and the Liberty Bell on the reverse. It was the first circulating half dollar to feature a historical portrait instead of an allegorical portrait of Liberty.

The Act of September 26, 1890 specified that the Treasury Department could modify coin designs without explict Congressional authorization only after a minimum of 25 years of use. Based on this law, the Walking Liberty half dollar design, which had proven difficult to strike, was eligible for replacement in 1941. 

To circumvent the Act of September 26, 1890, a law was passed by congress and signed by President Lyndon Johnson authorizing the minting of the Kennedy half dollar to replace the Franklin half dollar in 1964. The Franklin half dollar, because of this, was only minted for 15 years.

To read the full article, go here. 

What To Do With an Inherited Coin Collection

Above, Franklin and Kennedy silver half dollars I inherited from my father. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Many coin collectors/investors of the baby-boomer generation are now seniors. Some have heirs and some don't. In any case, the question arises by heirs, What to with an inherited coin collection?

Numismatic News has posted an article by Mike Thorne with some good suggestions.

They begin it with:

Let’s assume that you know little about U.S. coins other than that you can spend them for small purchases, and you inherit a relative’s coin collection. Congratulations! Now what?

Let’s further assume that you don’t want to become a coin collector, and you want to convert the collection to spendable money. How will you go about it?

I live in a small town and have often been asked to look at inherited collections. These collections have ranged from minuscule, with only a handful of coins, to quite large. Values have ranged from less than $100 to more than $2,000,000.

To read more, go here. 

The Franklin Half Dollar Turns 75

Above, Franklin half dollars. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

There was a time when silver Franklin half dollars were commonly found in pocket change as quarters and dimes. I remember those days.

This year marks 75 years since the U.S. Mint introduced the Franklin half dollar into our coinage in 1948. The Franklin half dollar superseded the Walking Liberty half dollar.

Above, a 1945 Walking Liberty half dollar. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

CoinWeek has an article celebrating the Franklin half dollar's 75th birthday.

It begins with:

Benjamin Franklin, the subject of the Franklin Half Dollar is perhaps one of the most famous Founding Fathers to have never become president of the United States. The Boston-born Franklin became a Philadelphia icon after running away from home at the age of 17 and serving as a printer, a postmaster, and a scientist in the City of Brotherly Love. He would even eventually invent bifocals, the glass armonica, the odometer, and several other contraptions.

As the American colonies worked harder to break free of their ties to Great Britain, Franklin took an active role as a patriotic statesman who eventually signed the Declaration of Independence, the Treaty of Paris, and the United States Constitution. He was 84 when he died in 1790 and has ever since been recognized as an amiable diplomat, a prudent philosopher, and one of America’s most enduring heroes.

To read more, go here.

Better Than Al Capone's Vaults!

Above, first day of issue $2 bills. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The following reminded me of this:

From Wikipedia:

The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults is a two-hour live American television special that was broadcast in syndication on April 21, 1986, and hosted by Geraldo Rivera. It centered on the live opening of a walled-off underground room in the Lexington Hotel in Chicago once owned by noted crime lord Al Capone, which turned out to be empty except for debris. Thirty million viewers watched, making it the "highest rated syndicated special" in history.

Geraldo Rivera may have come out empty, but I sure didn't today.

For years, since my parents passed away, a strongbox has been stored in my former L.A. apartments and in my home in Jamestown, New Mexico.

The strongbox key has been missing, so I could not open it to see what was inside. I had no idea what was in it. But it was heavy. My late mother probably didn't know what was inside either.

Today, I took it down to a Gallup locksmith I know and had him open it.

Well, it turned out to be loaded with some junk. But, along with the junk (like ink pens), were pieces of jewelry, several watches, foreign coins and U.S. coins. 

Above, 16 Franklin half dollars, one walking liberty half dollar and 20 1964 JFK half dollars. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It's the U.S. coins that got me excited. Inside were 16 Franklin silver half dollar coins, one walking liberty silver half dollar, 20 1964 JFK silver half dollars and a stack of first day of issue $2 bills from the Hawthorne (CA) post office. The JFK half dollars looked to be in AU (almost uncirculated grade) or pretty darn close to it. These are composed of 90% silver. There's other U.S. coins that were in the strongbox, but those aren't worth all that much, maybe face value at best. There were also about a half dozen World War II steel pennies.

Yes, this treasure trove is a lot better than what Geraldo Rivera came up with in 1986 with Al Capone's Vaults. 

Yes, I hit paydirt today!

Sleepy Hollow Returns

Ichabod Crane, the Headless Horseman and the gang are back!

It seems like it has been since during the Revolutionary War when we last saw a new episode of Sleep Hollow broadcast. But tonight the series returned for the beginning of its second season on Fox.

Tonight's episode was a good one that featured Benjamin Franklin.

According to the story, Franklin didn't send up a key on a kite's string to discover electricity, he sent it up to destroy it. He didn't succeed, so it is up to Ichabod Crane and Lt. Abbie Mills to find it in present day.

The key in question was the way to unlock the way out of purgatory for the various demons and their army to wage war upon the world.

I am glad Sleepy Hollow is back. Now I have something to watch on Monday nights!

Welcome back, Ichabod Crane!

The evening more made more enjoyable as we had homemade chocolate chip cookies (by my roomie) to munch on during the show.