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These 50-cent coins could be worth more than $100,000: How do I know if I have one?

Coins minted in silver with the face of Benjamin Franklin can be precious. In fact, thirteen of them have sold for prices up to $130,000.

Víctor Martín J.VictorMartJim
Oliver PoveyOlabolob
Update:
These 50-cent coins could be worth more than $100,000: How do I know if I have one?

In the first half of the 20th century, director of the United States Mint Nellie Tayloe Ross made a point to include the face of one of his idols, Benjamin Franklin, in some of the coins in circulation.

In 1948, the US government approved the minting of the ‘half dollar’ coin with the face of Benjamin Franklin on the obverse and on its reverse the Liberty Bell. This icon is particularly important as it represents the famous bell that the great founders rang for the first reading of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.

This changed in 1964 after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Franklin’s face on the 50-cent coins was replaced by the deceased president as a tribute. This was also the last year in which coin to be minted with a composition that was 90% silver. After this, the copper and silver alloy lowered the manufacturing cost, a mixture that was also quickly replaced by the copper and nickel currency.

13 'Franklin coins' worth a fortune

Although the majority of ‘half dollars’ with the face of the founding father do not have great economic value, some coins with certain particularities and rarities can raise the price significantly.

Although only 13 examples have so far achieved sufficient status to earn their owners tens of thousands of dollars, many of these 50-cent coins have not been correctly valued and some US citizens could have a real treasure in their homes.

These are the 13 most valued Franklin half dollars according to CoinValueChecker:

  • 1948 Full Bell Line Franklin Half Dollar: $28,750.
  • 1949-S Full Bell Line Franklin Half Dollar: $31,725.
  • 1950 Full Bell Line Franklin Half Dollar: $39,600.
  • 1951-S Full Bell Line Franklin Half Dollar: $30,550.
  • 1952 Full Bell Line Franklin Half Dollar: $42,300.
  • 1953-S Full Bell Line Franklin Half Dollar: $69,000.
  • 1954-D Full Bell Line Franklin Half Dollar: $21,275.
  • 1955 Full Bell Line Franklin Half Dollar: $14,100.
  • 1958 Full Bell Line Franklin Half Dollar: $129,250.
  • 1960 Full Bell Line Franklin Half Dollar: $28,200.
  • 1961 Proof DDR Franklin Half Dollar: $14,400.
  • 1962 Full Bell Line Franklin Half Dollar: $17,825.
  • 1963 Full Bell Line Franklin Half Dollar: $85,188.