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1963 was the final year for the Franklin Half. Even though the series had not reached the legally mandated 25 year duration, the series was replaced by the Kennedy Half after new legislation was passed. Approximately 510 million Franklin halves were minted during the period 1948 to 1963. The coin features Benjamin Franklin on the obverse and the Liberty Bell on the reverse.

Mintmark

Coins without a mintmark were minted in Philadelphia, whereas those with a “D” were minted in Denver and with an “S” in San Francisco. The mintmark on specimens having one is visible on the reverse side centered above the bell yoke. Engraver John R. Sinnock’s initials appear at Franklin’s shoulder on the obverse.

The Franklin Half replaced the Walking Liberty Half design. It also marked completion of the conversion of circulating US coin designs from the allegorical Liberty figure to portraits of historical Americans. The format was already being used on the Lincoln Cent, Jefferson Nickel, Roosevelt Dime, and Washington Quarter.

Like the other coins of its era, the Franklin Half had a composition of 90% silver. The balance of the composition was copper. Coins were produced for circulation from 1948 to 1963. Proof coins were produced from 1950 to 1963. Large quantities of the Franklin half dollar were melted as silver bullion shortly after 1964, when the intrinsic value exceeded the face value of U.S. silver coinage. Despite these losses, Franklin halves in gently circulated condition remain quite affordable even today, and the more common dates do not command more than a 25 percent premium over bullion. As of this notation in October 2009, common date circulated 90% silver coins are valued at 6-10 times face value. Well-struck uncirculated pieces showing full bell lines in the Liberty Bell design on the coin’s reverse command a considerable windfall.

One prominent error in the Franklin half dollar series is the “Bugs Bunny” error, so called because damage to the coin’s obverse die resulted in a split in Franklin’s upper lip, giving the appearance of prominent front teeth. The damage to the die resulted from the obverse and reverse dies striking each other without a coin planchet in between. The error is found in 1955 coins minted in Philadelphia. There is also a 1961-P Proof doubled die.

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Public dissatisfaction with the Seated Liberty design was heard in Washington and Philadelphia as early as 1879. Many felt that the nation’s coin designs were second-rate, but few could have predicted how mundane a change could really be. New designs were submitted by Mint engravers throughout the early 1880s, but the only outcome was the production of a new nickel designed by Chief Engraver Charles Barber in 1883. In 1891, there was much discussion of a public competition for new designs for the dime, quarter and half dollar.

Design Of The “New Dime”

What Barber did was to modify the large head used on the Morgan dollar by adding a Liberty cap and cropping Liberty’s hair shorter in back. He then placed his initial B on the truncation of the neck. The reverse uses almost exactly the same wreath used on the Seated Liberty dime of 1860-91. What Barber did accomplish with his new dime, though, was to design and place into production a coin that would meet the striking requirements of modern, high-speed coin presses.

The first Barber dimes were struck on January 2, 1892. Over a half billion pieces were struck during the next twenty-five years. Some issues have mintages as small as 500,000 (such as 1895-O, 1901-S and 1913-S), and others were struck in quantities as large as 22 million (1907-P). At one time or another four mints struck these coins, and the mint mark of Denver (D), San Francisco (S) and New Orleans (O) can be found on the lower reverse below the knot in the bow (there being no mint mark for coins struck in Philadelphia). Barber dimes are, for the most part, a attainable set of coins with no significant date or mint mark rarities, except for the legendary 1894-S. The low relief design assured that most coins would be sharply struck, except for a few issues from New Orleans (known for weak strikes over the decades).

Barber Dime Rarity

There is one great rarity in the Barber dime series, one of the rarest coins in all of U.S. numismatics, the 1894-S dime. Allegedly, 24 pieces were struck on orders from San Francisco Mint Superintendent J. Daggett. Due to the rarity of the coin and the mysteries surrounding its past, the 1894-S Dime is one of the most valuable coins produced in the United States. In the late 1990s one of the remaining 1894-S Dimes was bought for $825,000. Since then they have sold for $1,035,000 in 2005; $1.3 million also in 2005; and $1.9 million in 2007.Only 10 specimens can be accounted for today, which presents one of the great numismatic mysteries of the past hundred years: Where are the other fourteen 1894-S dimes that were reportedly struck?

Grading

Grading Barber dimes is a moderately simple process. On high grade coins, signs of circulation will first appear on Liberty’s cheek and in the fields. For a coin to be un-circulated, all the mint luster must be uniform and unbroken over both sides. Proofs were struck in each year except 1916, and the only standout rarity is the recently discovered 1893/2 over-date. 1894-S is the only issue in the series to have been counterfeited in any appreciable numbers. Dangerous forgeries have been made by altering the mintmark on an 1894-O or adding one to a Philadelphia coin. Others were made in the mid-1970s in The Philippines.

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