Most of you know that my favorite coin series of all time is the Franklin Half Dollar. While I do still very much enjoy collecting silver Washington Quarters and 21st Century varieties, the Franklin Halves are cemented at the top of my list. Even if you didn’t know this about me, you probably could have guessed it by my profile picture and my many references to Franklin Half Dollars through many of my blogs. I put our a blog when I was just starting to blog on Franklin Half Dollars called, and I quote, “Franklin Half Dollars.” Now even though I am a glass half full kind of guy, the blog was just as bad as the title. I made many mistakes that I made as a beginner. Now, as a serious collector of this series, I figured I had better do my favorite coins justice, and write a more updated and thorough blog. So here we are!��

When considering collecting the Franklin Half Dollars, there are a few things every collector take into account:

Franklin Half Dollars are very affordable in mint state grades. I am currently putting together a set of coins that appeal to me condition wise, which mainly includes MS-64-66 coins. I operate (along with many other YNs) on a very tight budget, so this being a cheap series that I can afford in high grades made this series appealing to me from that standpoint.�

Franklin Half Dollar key dates are not as pricy as one might think. When considering collecting a series, the thing that puts collectors off the most is the high prices key dates command from each series. This would not be a problem with the Franklin Half Dollars. The key date is the 1949-S, and trailing right behind is the semi-key 1949-D. Both can be had in mint state grades for under $100, which is really good when you look at the key dates of other series from this time period (1909-S VDB cent, 1932-S quarter, etc.)�

Lastly, you must consider the length of the series. For instance, with silver Washington Quarters, the key are a little pricier than the Franklin key if you are comparing MS grades for the Franklin and more circulated grades for the Washington Quarters (i.e. VG-8). But taking the average common date coin, the coins are $5 a piece. Less than the Franklin Half dollars, but when you consider that the series lasts for 32 years, and most years have three different mints (P,D, and S) the total cost for all the coins is actually lower for the Franklin Half Dollars than it is for the silver Washington Quarters.�

Keep collecting,

Thatcoinguy