Options
Franklin Half Instructional Series #16: 1953S Half Dollar
FC57Coins
Posts: 9,140 ✭
Franklin Half Instructional Series #16: 1953S Half Dollar.
It’s a nice quiet afternoon – my wife’s got relatives in the house whoopin’ it up and having a good time – since she’s catching up with them I have some free time and I’m on a roll so here is the sixteenth installment of my instructional series on Franklin Halves. 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 – two books which I feel every serious Franklin collector should read
1953S
If a country song could be written about Franklin halves (and why not?), it would have to feature the 1953S half. It is by far the most difficult coin in the series to obtain in fully struck, Full Bell Line condition. Why is this? Although much speculation has been rendered on the subject, the culprit appears to be striking pressure used at the San Francisco mint during these years. As you look at every series being minted during this time period, invariably the San Francisco issues appear to be the worse struck. Although I can’t vouch for cents as I have not paid attention to them, nickels, dimes, quarters, halves, and commemoratives all seem to share in the same unfortunate characteristic of lack of detail due to poor striking characteristics. To me this is further evidenced by the fact that mintage of the Franklin half was a very modest 4,148,000. Compared to the Denver mint offering of the day, this only represented about 20 percent of that mintage, so the only thing that could explain this phenomenon is poor striking pressure. Luster on these coins appears to range from acceptable to good, although I attribute this to careful handling of the coins as much as anything else. Since the coins were not fully struck up, the radial flow lines which help add brilliance to the coins are often not found. However, if you’re lucky enough to find an original roll of 1953S halves, you are likely to find one or two gems that will grade MS65 or even MS66, only to break your heart when you turn the coin over and see that the bell lines aren’t fully formed (hence the genesis of a potential country song).
Another interesting characteristic about these coins is that often times you’ll see coins with a good amount of die polish marks. This makes me wonder if perhaps the mint at San Francisco felt that they were not getting enough dies to make their coins and thus used the dies that they had well after their useful stage, re-polishing them to get as much life out of them. This would also add credence to the lower stamping pressure, though I must admit that this sheer speculation on my part.
Gems in this series come from both rolls and mint sets. Mint set coins for the most part tend to be duller than their original roll counterparts though the few FBL examples that have been found apparently resided in mint sets. At the time of the writing of Ehrmantraut’s book, he professed that he doubted very seriously if a genuine FBL existed in this date and was actually offering the astounding figure of $5,000 for any true FBL coin that would be presented to him at that time. Most of the coins that I have seen in original mint sets have been rather dull and lifeless. The reason is that probably most of the gems have been entombed in plastic in hopes of finding the holy grail of Full Bell Line status. The few Full Bell Line examples that are out there most likely were the result of fresh dies being put into the presses – a few coins might show something resembling Full Bell Lines, and then it’s back to the mushy strikes. Because of the scarcity of truly Full Bell Line coins, one has to be extremely vigilant of what’s considered FBL and what isn’t. I have seen only two or three certified FBL coins, and in my estimation, these were lacking enough detail to be considered genuine FBL coins. Although I have not seen the coin in person, from pictures that have been posted on these boards, I would say that probably one of the best FBL examples out there is the one previously owned by LUCYBOP and now residing in the Woodbury Collection. There are some other outstanding examples, but I guess the point I’m trying to make is that even though there may be 20 or 30 of these things out there, you can’t always trust the fact that it’s in a holder, and you have to look very carefully at the coin itself and determine whether it has truly has Full Bell Lines or not.
Yet another interesting characteristic of this striking is that due to poor metal flow on a lot of these coins, the cheek on Franklin’s bust and the bell often look pockmarked. This is not the result of contact. Instead, the metal didn’t quite flow all the way into the deepest recesses of the die, and therefore what you see is the actual surface of the planchet looked like prior to striking. Another interesting little factoid about this striking is the apparent existence, although undocumented of a large and small mint mark variety that is readily visible to the naked eye. Although this does not make for a significant variety, it does add a point of interest to an already interesting date.
Current population numbers from PCGS read as follows:
MS63 and lower 98 in non FBL and 2 in FBL
MS64 - 1369 in non FBL and 12 in FBL
MS65 - 2220 in non FBL and 19 in FBL
MS66 - 189 in non FBL and 1 in FBL
MS67 – 0 in FBL
There is nothing surprising about the numbers above. FBL pieces are down right rare. In MS64FBL, when available, the price is usually in the neighborhood of $6,000. In MS65FBL, the price jumps into the low to mid teens. The one and only MS66FBL sold for a record price of $69,000 a few years back. By comparison, an MS65 example will run you maybe $60, while an MS66 has topped $300 of late. Certainly only the most serious collectors with means will tackle the FBL in this date. The rest of us hold on to the hope that somewhere out there, there is still one last undiscovered mint set or original roll with that very last pristine FBL.
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 1953S half is is the holy grail of coins for FBL collectors and a very interesting piece in it’s own rite without full bell lines. The coin comes in every shade from frosty white to dark and dingy, but with some wild and beautiful color variations as well. Hunt them down whenever you can – you can’t go wrong with a great looking 53S. Have fun collecting Frankies!
1953S in MS66 from the Birmingham Collection:
It’s a nice quiet afternoon – my wife’s got relatives in the house whoopin’ it up and having a good time – since she’s catching up with them I have some free time and I’m on a roll so here is the sixteenth installment of my instructional series on Franklin Halves. 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 – two books which I feel every serious Franklin collector should read
1953S
If a country song could be written about Franklin halves (and why not?), it would have to feature the 1953S half. It is by far the most difficult coin in the series to obtain in fully struck, Full Bell Line condition. Why is this? Although much speculation has been rendered on the subject, the culprit appears to be striking pressure used at the San Francisco mint during these years. As you look at every series being minted during this time period, invariably the San Francisco issues appear to be the worse struck. Although I can’t vouch for cents as I have not paid attention to them, nickels, dimes, quarters, halves, and commemoratives all seem to share in the same unfortunate characteristic of lack of detail due to poor striking characteristics. To me this is further evidenced by the fact that mintage of the Franklin half was a very modest 4,148,000. Compared to the Denver mint offering of the day, this only represented about 20 percent of that mintage, so the only thing that could explain this phenomenon is poor striking pressure. Luster on these coins appears to range from acceptable to good, although I attribute this to careful handling of the coins as much as anything else. Since the coins were not fully struck up, the radial flow lines which help add brilliance to the coins are often not found. However, if you’re lucky enough to find an original roll of 1953S halves, you are likely to find one or two gems that will grade MS65 or even MS66, only to break your heart when you turn the coin over and see that the bell lines aren’t fully formed (hence the genesis of a potential country song).
Another interesting characteristic about these coins is that often times you’ll see coins with a good amount of die polish marks. This makes me wonder if perhaps the mint at San Francisco felt that they were not getting enough dies to make their coins and thus used the dies that they had well after their useful stage, re-polishing them to get as much life out of them. This would also add credence to the lower stamping pressure, though I must admit that this sheer speculation on my part.
Gems in this series come from both rolls and mint sets. Mint set coins for the most part tend to be duller than their original roll counterparts though the few FBL examples that have been found apparently resided in mint sets. At the time of the writing of Ehrmantraut’s book, he professed that he doubted very seriously if a genuine FBL existed in this date and was actually offering the astounding figure of $5,000 for any true FBL coin that would be presented to him at that time. Most of the coins that I have seen in original mint sets have been rather dull and lifeless. The reason is that probably most of the gems have been entombed in plastic in hopes of finding the holy grail of Full Bell Line status. The few Full Bell Line examples that are out there most likely were the result of fresh dies being put into the presses – a few coins might show something resembling Full Bell Lines, and then it’s back to the mushy strikes. Because of the scarcity of truly Full Bell Line coins, one has to be extremely vigilant of what’s considered FBL and what isn’t. I have seen only two or three certified FBL coins, and in my estimation, these were lacking enough detail to be considered genuine FBL coins. Although I have not seen the coin in person, from pictures that have been posted on these boards, I would say that probably one of the best FBL examples out there is the one previously owned by LUCYBOP and now residing in the Woodbury Collection. There are some other outstanding examples, but I guess the point I’m trying to make is that even though there may be 20 or 30 of these things out there, you can’t always trust the fact that it’s in a holder, and you have to look very carefully at the coin itself and determine whether it has truly has Full Bell Lines or not.
Yet another interesting characteristic of this striking is that due to poor metal flow on a lot of these coins, the cheek on Franklin’s bust and the bell often look pockmarked. This is not the result of contact. Instead, the metal didn’t quite flow all the way into the deepest recesses of the die, and therefore what you see is the actual surface of the planchet looked like prior to striking. Another interesting little factoid about this striking is the apparent existence, although undocumented of a large and small mint mark variety that is readily visible to the naked eye. Although this does not make for a significant variety, it does add a point of interest to an already interesting date.
Current population numbers from PCGS read as follows:
MS63 and lower 98 in non FBL and 2 in FBL
MS64 - 1369 in non FBL and 12 in FBL
MS65 - 2220 in non FBL and 19 in FBL
MS66 - 189 in non FBL and 1 in FBL
MS67 – 0 in FBL
There is nothing surprising about the numbers above. FBL pieces are down right rare. In MS64FBL, when available, the price is usually in the neighborhood of $6,000. In MS65FBL, the price jumps into the low to mid teens. The one and only MS66FBL sold for a record price of $69,000 a few years back. By comparison, an MS65 example will run you maybe $60, while an MS66 has topped $300 of late. Certainly only the most serious collectors with means will tackle the FBL in this date. The rest of us hold on to the hope that somewhere out there, there is still one last undiscovered mint set or original roll with that very last pristine FBL.
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 1953S half is is the holy grail of coins for FBL collectors and a very interesting piece in it’s own rite without full bell lines. The coin comes in every shade from frosty white to dark and dingy, but with some wild and beautiful color variations as well. Hunt them down whenever you can – you can’t go wrong with a great looking 53S. Have fun collecting Frankies!
1953S in MS66 from the Birmingham Collection:
0
Comments
Capped Bust Half Series
Capped Bust Half Dime Series
Capped Bust Half Series
Capped Bust Half Dime Series
Lucy, can you post a pic. I still have not taken a pic of mine, but since the coin was once yours, and you have oics of it ...
How weak can they be and still be considered full lines? The few 53-S FBLs I've seen or had described to me had almost identical bell lines features. The lines were very full (as was the Pass & stow, etc.) save for a very very small weakness, particularly in the second of the bottom three bell lines.
Since many people know about my set (including the '53-S), I often have people bring '53-Ss to me and ask "Will this FBL?", or "Why didn't this FBL?" Several of these requests even come from very experieinced submitters (although they are not Franklin specialists). None of the non-FBL designated '53-Ss had lines that looked like the ones I've seen or had described to me as PCGS designated FBLs. While they had some very full, clear lines particularly on the far right side of the bell, there was significant line weakness along a large part of the bell. These coins also lacked other features of the FBL '53-Ss I've seen (e.g., the Pass & Stow was not as full).
"Senorita HepKitty"
"I want a real cool Kitty from Hepcat City, to stay in step with me" - Bill Carter
The picture that you showed is very close to what my MS66 looks like - eeeeeeeever so close! I've seen a couple of MS64FBL's that I was very leery of as to their FBL status to - especially given how difficult it is to get FBL's for 1953S'. One thing people who take the plunge with these things have to be very careful of is that the coin is in fact a no questions about it FBL - if I'm going to pay $6,000 or $12,000 for a 53S FBL I don't want to have to twist it, turn it, or have to use my imagination to figure it out.
<< <i>I don't want to have to twist it, turn it, or have to use my imagination to figure it out. >>
Frank that's a very good way of putting it! I would like to think if I bought a full bell line coin I would be able to see the bell lines without messing around with it. Maybe one of these days I will submit that 53-S but to me it's not an FBL coin even it graded that way at PCGS. mike
So far my pics don't end up looking like the actual coin.
edited to add:
Mike,
Maybe one of these days I will submit that 53-S but to me it's not an FBL coin even it graded that way at PCGS.
If you are going to the MidAmerica show next month in the Chicago area, I'd be happy to look at your coin.
Greg
Cher-Wood Forest Aviary
POTD - May 26, 2005
please could you do the franklin instructional series 54 s soon
michael
Capped Bust Half Series
Capped Bust Half Dime Series
In Memory of Frank...
Currently Listed: Nothing
Take Care, Dave
Franklin-Lover's Forum