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I'm interested in doing research on a particular coin. Specifically, I would like to find out why there were some 1949-S Franklins which were prooflike as the one shown below:
The coin comes from extremely polished dies, and it's the only Franklin issue that even comes close to having this type of surface to my knowledge. I've tried doing preliminary research via email and telephone calls and have gotten nowhere - now I'm thinking I'll have to get serious about this. Here's my starting point. When the Franklin half was launched in 1948, a number of gala events were held by then mint director Nellie Tayloe Ross to celebrate the new half which had been a pet project of hers. At these events, place cards were made with an example of the new Franklin half. There is documentation in Rick Tomaska's boo, that such an event took place at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia in 1948.
Now - in speaking with several long time collectors, they seem to think that the 1949S prooflikes were the result of a similar gala event held to inaugurate the launching of Franklin Halves at San Francisco. What I want to do, is see if there is some long lost evidence of such a thing. A request to the San Francisco Mint from the director to have a number of halves prepared, mint records showing an initial striking of some sort and what it was for.
Any suggestions on where to start this little adventure would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Frank
The coin comes from extremely polished dies, and it's the only Franklin issue that even comes close to having this type of surface to my knowledge. I've tried doing preliminary research via email and telephone calls and have gotten nowhere - now I'm thinking I'll have to get serious about this. Here's my starting point. When the Franklin half was launched in 1948, a number of gala events were held by then mint director Nellie Tayloe Ross to celebrate the new half which had been a pet project of hers. At these events, place cards were made with an example of the new Franklin half. There is documentation in Rick Tomaska's boo, that such an event took place at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia in 1948.
Now - in speaking with several long time collectors, they seem to think that the 1949S prooflikes were the result of a similar gala event held to inaugurate the launching of Franklin Halves at San Francisco. What I want to do, is see if there is some long lost evidence of such a thing. A request to the San Francisco Mint from the director to have a number of halves prepared, mint records showing an initial striking of some sort and what it was for.
Any suggestions on where to start this little adventure would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Frank
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Comments
1. Do the PL's usually come from Mint Sets?
2. Has anyone ever seen an original roll of PL 49-S halves?
3. Do 49-S dimes and quarters ever show up in PL?
Answers to the above might provide some useful perspective.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Other source is the Regional Archives in Calif. - think these would be in SF, but you'll have to check. When the Mint records were decessioned from the main archives in DC, the stuff for each mint was sent to the respective regional archives branch.
You could also check with RW Julian (the noted author & fellow Rittenhouse member, not the Julian Leidman who posts here). If you don't have his email, send me an email (hvymtl@pa.net) stating what you want to know, who you are (name & a little background - sorry, but we like to know who we're talking to), & your email. I will discuss w/ Bob & have him contact you direct or reply.
Frank
Mark - Unlike you, I don't have ALL the answers! However, I do know that I've seen enough PL 49-S halves over the years to suspect that many (if not all) were released through less interesting channels. The answers to my questions might help confirm or disprove my suspicion.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
<< <i>However, I do know that I've seen enough PL 49-S halves over the years >>
wow! in all my travels, I've yet to see one in over 30 years of collecting.....
"Senorita HepKitty"
"I want a real cool Kitty from Hepcat City, to stay in step with me" - Bill Carter
That makes two of us! However, there are plenty of old timers who have handled plenty of original rolls and Mint Sets, long before most were picked over and broken up. They should be able to answer my questions and help you solve your mystery.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
You could also do first hand research at NARA if you ever visit the area.
Below is an excerpt from an email I got from Wayne De Cesar (NARA Archivist) in response to a similar inquiry of my own.
I examined several series of headquarters records that appeared to pertain to your topic, but was unable to locate any information. Mint production records are usually housed in the Federal Record Center closest to the mint location. In this case, our Philadelphia facility. I suggest you contact them, 215-671-8074.
I'll be making a trip up soon if you need me to take a look at a box for you.
Don
and it sets us apart from practitioners and consultants. Gregor
Jeremy
You mentioned Rick's book in asking your question, but you may wish to forward you question to him. I know that Steve Leber has been (exclusively?) dealing in Franklins for 10 years our more, and hence may be able to answer your question. I have not talked to Steve for about 3 years so I don't know how to contact him. I would run into him at the larger shows- Any one know how to contact Steve? If yes, please PM me and FC57 Coins.
Jack Ehrmantraut dealt with Franklins in the 80’s and wrote the book "An Analysis Of Gem Franklin Half Dollars (published in 1983). This book references PL and semi-PL 1949-Ss. In his book he states:
"Occasionally a semi prooflike to fully prooflike piece turns up. While some [people] consider these to be the ultimate rarity, this author does not. Most semi-prooflike or prooflike 1949-S's look horribly washed out, are stricken by a large number of heavy die polishing marks and have virtually no luster."
…
“This author believes the finest known 1949-S prooflike was sold by Ron Iskowitz and Rob Rose of Renrob Coins Inc. to an Omaha collector at the 1982 Central States Convention for $1500. The piece was deeply prooflike, virtually mark free, toned a magnificent red and blue and had a superior strike.”
Unfortunately, he does not provide any other information, but if it is possible to contact him, he might know the answer to your question. I did see in a thread several weeks ago that one board member said that Steve Leber had once worked with Jack (Jack helped train Steve?).
Greg
Thanks again!
Frank
coins which approach being common. While many dates don't seem to exist in PL,
isn't it possible that many of these 49-S's are merely mint set coins. The mintage of
sets was small but if only 2% were like this it would explain the estimated population.
It is surprising that some of the later dates aren't much more common.
People generally don't travel great distance to "galas" so the coins would tend to be
concentrated in the area for decades. If there is no special packaging or they are un-
aware that the coin is in some way special there would be a strong tendency for most
individuals to simply spend the coin. Perhaps some of these have turned up in some
sort of special packaging. You may want to try talking to people in the business in that
area.
By the same token if all these were regular production issues they could have been re-
leased in a small area also. Even mint set coins have a tendency to bunch up like this,
or at least they do nowdays.