The Franklin half dollar is a coin that was struck by the United States Mint from 1948 to 1963. The fifty-cent piece pictures Founding Father Benjamin Franklin on the obverse and the Liberty Bell on the reverse. A small eagle was placed to the right of the bell to fulfill the legal requirement that half dollars depict the figure of an eagle. Produced in 90 percent silver with a reeded edge, the coin was struck at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco mints.
The Sesquicentennial half dollar. Its reverse was used as the basis for the Franklin half dollar's reverse.
John R. Sinnock's medal of Franklin served as the basis of his obverse for the half dollar.
Close-up of the "Bugs Bunny" variety of the Franklin half dollar
The release of the Franklin half dollar was front-page news in the coin collecting world, as seen by the June 1948 The Numismatist.
Half dollar (United States coin)
The half dollar, sometimes referred to as the half for short or 50-cent piece, is a United States coin worth 50 cents, or one half of a dollar. In both size and weight, it is the largest United States circulating coin currently produced, being 1.205 inches in diameter and 0.085 in (2.16 mm) in thickness, and is twice the weight of the quarter. The coin's design has undergone a number of changes throughout its history. Since 1964, the half dollar depicts the profile of President John F. Kennedy on the obverse and the seal of the president of the United States on the reverse.
Various half dollar designs. From left to right: Bicentennial, Kennedy, Franklin, Walking Liberty
