I always thought the Bugs Bunny Franklin half dollar was valuable and excessively rare....

Longacre · October 22, 2008 11:28PM

I was reading the latest edition of Dave's Notes on the Stack's site. I was shocked when my beloved QDB dropped the F-bomb in his article--he mentioned the word Fad. Here is a quote:

"Fads and current passions of the market are no stranger to coins either. Some of you may remember all of the excitement back in 1976 when newly-issued $2 Federal Reserve Notes were taken to post offices and stamps and postmarks were affixed, making them a "valuable" collectible. Indeed, a book was written on the subject. I won't even mention the 1995 [sic] "Bugs Bunny" Franklin half dollar with a slight die defect on the upper lip, or the sensational "LIBIERTY" Lincoln cents with a die crack between the B and the E. Marketed with great excitement years ago, they are probably available today at little or no premium."

For some reason, I always assumed that Bugs Bunny half dollars were excessively rare. I see that people here post threads about them, but honestly, I have not read any of them. Does anyone know what the value of these coins are, and are they truly a fad coin that does not have much value today?

kieferscoins · October 22, 2008 11:31PM

I had a bunch of them that I have sold already in PCGS MS 64 for $30-40 each.

ebay Bugs Bunny link

I agree the BIE cents and stamped $2 bills were a fad but I dissagree saying the Bugs Bunny was a fad. Its part of many Franklin Half collectors collections and command a premium over the regular coins....not a big one but steady for 20+ years.

Cameron Kiefer

Jcarney · October 22, 2008 11:31PM

<< ...I won't even mention the 1995 "Bugs Bunny" Franklin half dollar with a slight die defect on the upper lip... >>

If he could find me a 1995 "Bugs Bunny" Franklin, I'd mortgage my house to pay a premium for it.

FWIW, my Franklin set includes the '55 Bugs. Although I realize it was a heavy promotion years ago and they are common, I like them and may try to obtain the other years that exhibit similar die clashes.

kranky · October 22, 2008 11:34PM

Another fad I recall was the 1964 pointed and blunt "9" dime.

bushmaster8 · October 23, 2008 12:04AM

The 1955 Bugs is as common as dirt.

The 1951, 54 and 56 are scarce.

I only know of one 59, so you might call that one rare.

I have never seen a 52, or 53.

JRocco · October 23, 2008 12:09AM

Its only a clashed die.

jfoot13 · October 23, 2008 12:19AM

You make these "Fad" coins sound like a bad thing but how many numismatists got their start by finding a 1957 BIE lincoln in change and that made them pay a little more attention to their pocket change and low and behold finds a 1962 cracked skull variety.. after finding a few of each notices they are different and goes on to put together a nice set of die progressions on each. Although not very expensive individually they make a very interesting and educational display. The two dollar bill-state flag thing is another thing, my take is a couple of goverment officals were brainstorming on how to fleece the public yet again... The mint was making such a windfall on the bicentenial offerings the printing and engraving division wanted in too.. so one fellow thinks hey we got this new $2 bill coming out let's make some money by selling a service we don't have to preform we'll put a stamp on it and cancell it so it can't be used again... the guy from the postoffice says I got a better idea lets make a sheet of 50 different stamps so people need the whole set so instead of getting $2.13 we can get 206.50 from each person and besides nobody's going to use the $2.00 bills anyway at least this way we can get the public to store them instead of the banks..

bushmaster8 · October 23, 2008 12:31AM

Oh! Wait! I want to change my answer!

Apparently, the 1955 BB is very rare and expensive, link!

KentuckyJ · October 23, 2008 12:32AM

> are they truly a fad coin that does not have much value today?

You are doubting QDB?! Amazing!

MadMonk · October 31, 2008 4:32AM

Bushmaster is correct, as usual

I've seen eleventy gajillion of them.
Money is better spent elsewhere.

Millertime · October 31, 2008 4:34AM

I picked up one fairly cheap in an ANACS holder just to have one.

Millertime

bushmaster8 · November 1, 2008 12:17AM

Woke up this morning (got myself a gun), and felt compelled to resurrect this thread.

I want to add that GEM 1955 Bugs are prized by many collectors and bring a nice premium.

Brilliant 1955 Bugs in PCGS 65FBL are relatively scarce and will generally sell in the $200-$300 range. And, as with most Franklin dates, exceptionally toned examples will bring a very strong price, but even non bugs 55's are tough to find pretty.

In MS66 they are very scarce to rare. I only know of a couple examples. About 10 yrs ago, there was an MS66FBL white gem on Ebay that sold for very close to $2000.

19Lyds · November 1, 2008 1:30AM

<< Another fad I recall was the 1964 pointed and blunt "9" dime. >>

The difference with this one is that the proof sets that contain these usually have an Accented Hair Kennedy. I recently picked up a proof set that was marked "Pointed Nine" but the seller hadn't even noticed (or knew about) the Kennedy.

As for QDB's article, I think he was alluding to the marketing names given to die state coins such as the "Bugs Bunny" die clashed Franklins, the die gouged "Speared Bison" nickels, the "3 legged" Buffalo's, the "Superbird" 1952 proofs, the "Extra Leaf" and "Extra Tree" quarters and on and on and on.

Some of these come and go and yet others hang around for years on end. Remember, it wasn't all that long ago that the 3 legged buff's were actually affordable coins!

I think that anybody who collects a particular series will become familiar enough with the design to be able to spot these anomolies and if a catchy enough name can be created, along with the right article, in the right publication, a new fad can and will be born.

Something else to consider, these "fad" coins do have a place in numismatic history and a good collector will get as good an example as possible. This is probably where the fad actually starts, that mad scramble to pick one up since the difference is easily detectable and nobody really knows how many there are or how popular they will be. However, once the dust settles and actual numbers can be assessed, the coins true rarity or commonality soon emerges.

57loaded · November 1, 2008 1:32AM

<< Another fad I recall was the 1964 pointed and blunt "9" dime. >>

i think that was early die proofs?

WaterSport · November 1, 2008 1:35AM

another fad was 55 S cents and 50 D nicks

WS

ProofArtworkonCircs · November 1, 2008 3:58PM

<<With all the recent Ike find posts as of late I'm thinking about opening up and searching all these five packs or maybe I should just repack them and wait.>>
I have seen twos with the cancelled stamp in circulation within the past year.

tightbudget · November 1, 2008 4:06PM

As everyone said, they are common. You can cherrypick them but I don't think it'd be considered much (if any) of a score.

coinkat · November 1, 2008 11:32PM

The Bugs for other dates than 1955 are tough, however, I often wonder about the demand

jdimmick · November 1, 2008 11:43PM

There was a show I went to last year where a guy had like 4 BU rolls of 55 BB halves

ecichlid · November 2, 2008 12:52AM

<< Remember, it wasn't all that long ago that the 3 legged buff's were actually affordable coins! >>

This coin ceased to become a fad when it was given a hole in popular coin albums. In fact, it now becomes as legitimate as any of the other regular issues. It's a shame, because it's not.

QDB has the historical perspective to recall when the Buggs Bunny Franklin first came to the scene and can judge if it's a fad. Was it once much more popular then than it is now? If yes, then he's correct. A coin could still command a premium today and still be a fad.

garsmith · November 2, 2008 1:02AM

bugs is not a fad and thats all folks

19Lyds · November 2, 2008 4:35AM

<< bugs is not a fad and thats all folks >>

To some folks, no but to others its just a readily available Die Clash that occured over a number of years.

Its in the same league as Talon Head IKE's, or PegLeg IKE's as having been "accepted" by the collecting community.

Coins that have "names" assigned to them, other than a pedigree, all started out as FAD coins with published hype. Some get accepted as collectibles while others do not.

fcloud · November 2, 2008 4:43AM

I think the craze right now with all the Presidential Dollars missing the edge lettering; Pos A; Pos B; Light; heavy; etc. is way over blown. This is a secondary operation and many act as if it is done during the minting process. There are probably millions of coins sitting at the mint right now without the seconday operation of edge lettering processed. Does that mean they are errors only until the process is done. Now find one on a proof coin and I'll change my tune.

corvette4 · November 2, 2008 5:39AM

The pointed "9" 1964 dimes were not just in proof sets. I have an original bank wrapped roll of the pointed 9 dimes that I opened to make sure that they were all the pointed 9 variety. They came in a package deal of over 300 OBW rolls of 1956-1964 dimes. I dumped the dimes for 2.5X spot silver years ago, but did keep a few rolls back from each year that were very nice, and one roll was the pointed 9 dimes. I don't think they have any value beyond spot silver, but from my experience you certainly see a great deal more blunt 9 dimes vs. the pointed 9 variety. I wonder if that is the opinion of everyone else?

Larry

PawPaul · November 2, 2008 11:06AM

as hard as some try ; the "bugs" Franklin's , however scarce or rare , are not very popular.

Steve Leber , one of the all time great Franklin dealers - hoarded the Bugs his entire career ;

if he couldn't make them popular -nobody could

I always thought the Bugs Bunny Franklin half dollar was valuable and excessively rare....

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