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Franklin Half Instructional Series #11: 1952P Half Dollar
FC57Coins
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Franklin Half Instructional Series #11: 1952P Half Dollar.
This is another long overdue installment of my instructional series on Franklin Halves. As I have time, I will add an excerpt on one of the coins of the series, and hopefully those of you who are interested in Franklins will add your own observations and pictures. By the end of the series we should wind up with a pretty comprehensive study of the Franklin series, along with some nice pictures as well. And who knows, maybe some other folks will do the same for other series!
Sources for this series generally include "An Analysis of Gem Franklins" by Jack Ehrmantraut and "The Complete Guide for Franklin Halves" by Rick Tomaska ¡V two books which I feel every serious Franklin collector should read.
1952P
By 1952 the baby boom is into full swing, the Korean War is stalemated and Harry Truman is finishing up the second term of his presidency. The mint in turn, is now churning out coins as never before, and the Franklin half is no exception. Mintage of this issue tops out at 21,274,073 which is the highest mintage thus far of any Franklin issue. The result of this is that you have a wide variety in quality and luster for this issue. Unfortunately variety doesn't translate into high numbers of gem pieces. Sure enough, this date can be found with luster and strike features rivaling the 1950P and 1951P issues, however, a great majority of the pieces struck in this year have mushy under defined details. While the details are still better than many of the pieces struck toward the end of the 1950's, the wearing down of the master die, and the over use of dies to try to get as many pieces made as possible, yielded many examples suffering from lack of detail, and mushy bell lines.
On the positive side of the picture, is the fact that 1952P halves can be found with some of the better toning characteristics of any of the early 1950's mint set issues, often rivaling the quality seen in 1956-58 sets. Unfortunately, you have to hunt for these with great patience. While luster for this issue tends to be slightly better than average, in my opinion it ¡s not as good as can be found in 1950 or 51 halves. In addition, the rate of bag marks and abrasions tends to be higher than normal, even in mint set pieces, so patience is the key. However, if you hunt, and hunt, and hunt, you may be able to obtain a gorgeous gold/yellow/red example that will awe even the most staunch "bright white" Franklin fan. The great majority of coins for this issue tend to have typical brown/grey toning, with decent underlying luster. Finding bright white gem pieces is also a major undertaking due to the fact that bag marks are an issue.
Current population numbers from PCGS read as follows:
MS63 and lower 200 in non FBL and 86 in FBL
MS64 - 420 in non FBL and 695 in FBL
MS65 - 287 in non FBL and 630 in FBL
MS66 - 37 in non FBL and 180 in FBL
MS67 - 7 in FBL
The population reports show that gem pieces in MS64FBL through MS66FBL can be had fairly readily; however hunting for an eye appealing piece is another issue all together. The pop report also shows that seven pieces have been graded in MS67FBL. I guess this is a good place to make an editorial comment. Over the past year particularly, the population of MS66FBL and MS67FBL coins in many dates have soared. Granted that some of this increase could be due to the increase in submissions due in turn to the increase in popularity of the series (yeah, I know there are some closet Frankie lovers out there!
), but in my opinion, there has also been some relaxing of the standard for very high grade Franklins. In other words, my belief is that some of the upper end MS65FBL and MS66FBL¡¦s have been spilling over into the next grade due to resubmissions. This is not to say that all the new grades fall into this category, What it does say is that if you are in the market for these ultra high grades, particularly the MS67FBL's take a darn close look at the coin and make sure that it is in fact heads and shoulders above the lower grade offering. To make a long story short, "buy the coin, not the holder".
An MS64FBL piece can often be found for around $40-$75, while MS65FBL pieces will generally run anywhere from $125 on up, depending on eye appeal. MS66FBL pieces tend to range in the mid $300 range on up. For more information on this date you can look the coin up in the Coinfacts page, which also sites significant sales appearances over the past few years. This information can be found HERE. I will continue to post the COINFACTS site for reference, but I am in no way promoting their products or services.
The 1952P is a nice piece that doesn't usually get much attention. For type collectors, especially those focusing in on exceptionally toned pieces; this could be a great addition to your set. For those of us who collect the series, with a little persistence you can find a great looking coin, for still very reasonable prices. Have fun collecting Frankies!
1952P Franklin in MS66FBL from the Birmingham Collection:
This is another long overdue installment of my instructional series on Franklin Halves. As I have time, I will add an excerpt on one of the coins of the series, and hopefully those of you who are interested in Franklins will add your own observations and pictures. By the end of the series we should wind up with a pretty comprehensive study of the Franklin series, along with some nice pictures as well. And who knows, maybe some other folks will do the same for other series!
Sources for this series generally include "An Analysis of Gem Franklins" by Jack Ehrmantraut and "The Complete Guide for Franklin Halves" by Rick Tomaska ¡V two books which I feel every serious Franklin collector should read.
1952P
By 1952 the baby boom is into full swing, the Korean War is stalemated and Harry Truman is finishing up the second term of his presidency. The mint in turn, is now churning out coins as never before, and the Franklin half is no exception. Mintage of this issue tops out at 21,274,073 which is the highest mintage thus far of any Franklin issue. The result of this is that you have a wide variety in quality and luster for this issue. Unfortunately variety doesn't translate into high numbers of gem pieces. Sure enough, this date can be found with luster and strike features rivaling the 1950P and 1951P issues, however, a great majority of the pieces struck in this year have mushy under defined details. While the details are still better than many of the pieces struck toward the end of the 1950's, the wearing down of the master die, and the over use of dies to try to get as many pieces made as possible, yielded many examples suffering from lack of detail, and mushy bell lines.
On the positive side of the picture, is the fact that 1952P halves can be found with some of the better toning characteristics of any of the early 1950's mint set issues, often rivaling the quality seen in 1956-58 sets. Unfortunately, you have to hunt for these with great patience. While luster for this issue tends to be slightly better than average, in my opinion it ¡s not as good as can be found in 1950 or 51 halves. In addition, the rate of bag marks and abrasions tends to be higher than normal, even in mint set pieces, so patience is the key. However, if you hunt, and hunt, and hunt, you may be able to obtain a gorgeous gold/yellow/red example that will awe even the most staunch "bright white" Franklin fan. The great majority of coins for this issue tend to have typical brown/grey toning, with decent underlying luster. Finding bright white gem pieces is also a major undertaking due to the fact that bag marks are an issue.
Current population numbers from PCGS read as follows:
MS63 and lower 200 in non FBL and 86 in FBL
MS64 - 420 in non FBL and 695 in FBL
MS65 - 287 in non FBL and 630 in FBL
MS66 - 37 in non FBL and 180 in FBL
MS67 - 7 in FBL
The population reports show that gem pieces in MS64FBL through MS66FBL can be had fairly readily; however hunting for an eye appealing piece is another issue all together. The pop report also shows that seven pieces have been graded in MS67FBL. I guess this is a good place to make an editorial comment. Over the past year particularly, the population of MS66FBL and MS67FBL coins in many dates have soared. Granted that some of this increase could be due to the increase in submissions due in turn to the increase in popularity of the series (yeah, I know there are some closet Frankie lovers out there!
), but in my opinion, there has also been some relaxing of the standard for very high grade Franklins. In other words, my belief is that some of the upper end MS65FBL and MS66FBL¡¦s have been spilling over into the next grade due to resubmissions. This is not to say that all the new grades fall into this category, What it does say is that if you are in the market for these ultra high grades, particularly the MS67FBL's take a darn close look at the coin and make sure that it is in fact heads and shoulders above the lower grade offering. To make a long story short, "buy the coin, not the holder".An MS64FBL piece can often be found for around $40-$75, while MS65FBL pieces will generally run anywhere from $125 on up, depending on eye appeal. MS66FBL pieces tend to range in the mid $300 range on up. For more information on this date you can look the coin up in the Coinfacts page, which also sites significant sales appearances over the past few years. This information can be found HERE. I will continue to post the COINFACTS site for reference, but I am in no way promoting their products or services.
The 1952P is a nice piece that doesn't usually get much attention. For type collectors, especially those focusing in on exceptionally toned pieces; this could be a great addition to your set. For those of us who collect the series, with a little persistence you can find a great looking coin, for still very reasonable prices. Have fun collecting Frankies!
1952P Franklin in MS66FBL from the Birmingham Collection:
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Comments
The Ludlow Brilliant Collection (1938-64)
I hadn't thought about it - but it might be a possibility. Thanks
I hope you don't mind, but I actually copy each one into a word file, along with other member's comments (especially Lucy). Then I can bring up the entire series anytime I want.
Thanks again!
You are doing well, subject 15837. You are a good person.
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You're right - it's not the best example, but it's a well struck, original example. As I've looked at different Franklins, I've always considered the combination of strike quality, originality, and eye appeal. Sometimes when the coffers are somewhat bare, one has to give up one gem for another.
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FWIW, while I've certainly seen pictures of nicely toned 1952-P's, I've been looking for a long time to upgrade my somewhat workmanlike (toning wise) example of the 1952, and I have yet to see one in hand. Given how theoretically RELATIVELY easy it is to find one this has been a bit of a surprise to me. I've certainly seen far more '52-S Frankies with nice toning than '52-P's. Anyhow, here's mine... let's see yours...
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