Collectors Corner^SM: The Collectibles Marketplace

This 1948 Franklin Half Dollar sold for $84,000 in 2024.Click image to enlarge.

The year 1948 launched what became the United States’ last circulating half dollar series struck entirely in 90% silver. The Franklin Half Dollar came along as a replacement for the aging Walking Liberty Half Dollar, which today is widely regarded as one of the nation’s most beautiful coins ever struck and certainly so among the U.S. silver catalog. Many would claim it unthinkable to ever consider replacing the Walking Liberty motif, which today continues a run on the American Silver Eagle that began in 1986, giving the Adolph A. Weinman motif a longer continuous life on the modern one-ounce silver bullion coin than it ever saw during its original run on the half dollar from 1916 through 1947. But in post-World War II America, the minting powers that be were ready for a change.

A change is exactly what Mint brass got with the Franklin Half Dollar, designed by United States Mint Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock, who passed away shortly before the coin was released. The appearance of Sinnock’s initials, JRS, on the obverse of the Franklin Half Dollar in 1948 caused something of a controversy during Cold War times; many Americans thought “JRS” was a surreptitiously placed nod to Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin. This was quickly disproven by U.S. Mint officials. The striking of 1948 Franklin Half Dollars carried on, and more than 7 million were struck across the Philadelphia and Denver Mints; Philly produced 3,006,814 while Denver delivered 4,028,600.

As seen, neither the Philadelphia or Denver Mints struck huge quantities of the 1948 or 1948-D Franklin Halves. While both coins are regarded as generally common in circulated grades, they are relatively scarce in better Mint State grade and especially so with the Full Bell Lines (FBL) designation. Examples from either mint in MS66 or better are challenging, with those bearing the FBL details sought after. The 1948 in MS66FBL is a $375 coin, while a specimen in MS67FB goes for $2,000. A lone representative is graded by PCGS in MS68FB, and that one sold for $84,000 in a 2024 Stack’s Bowers Galleries sale. The 1948-D also commands lofty prices with the coveted FBL grade designation; the issue fetches $350 in MS66FB, while it takes around $4,500 in MS67FB.