The Franklin Half Dollar occupies a distinctive place in American coinage. Issued from 1948 through 1963, the 90% silver coin paired Benjamin Franklin with the Liberty Bell and became the bridge between the celebrated Walking Liberty Half Dollar and the Kennedy Half Dollar that followed it.
Benjamin Franklin Comes to the Half Dollar
The idea for a Franklin half dollar was strongly supported by United States Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross. The Walking Liberty Half Dollar design had been in use since 1916 and was eligible for replacement without additional congressional legislation.
In January 1948, the Treasury announced that Benjamin Franklin would replace the symbolic figure of Liberty on the half dollar. The new coin entered production that spring, bringing together two important symbols of early American history: Franklin on the obverse and Philadelphia's Liberty Bell on the reverse.
John R. Sinnock's Franklin Portrait
The Franklin Half Dollar was designed by John R. Sinnock, Chief Engraver of the United States Mint. Sinnock based Franklin's profile on a composite study prepared from several portraits of Franklin and modified a Franklin profile he had previously used for a U.S. Mint medal issued in 1933.
The obverse shows Franklin facing right, surrounded by the inscriptions LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST, with the date beside the portrait.
Sinnock's initials, JRS, appear beneath Franklin's shoulder. They are simply the designer's initials and were used by Sinnock to sign his coin and medal designs.
The Liberty Bell Reverse
The reverse is dominated by Philadelphia's Liberty Bell, including its famous crack. Sinnock adapted the image from a Liberty Bell design he had modeled for the 1926 Sesquicentennial of American Independence commemorative half dollar.
The inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and HALF DOLLAR surround the design, with E PLURIBUS UNUM beside the bell.
A small American eagle appears to the right of the Liberty Bell. Its inclusion preserved the eagle on the half dollar as required for the denomination at the time.
90% Silver American Coinage
Franklin Half Dollars were struck from the traditional U.S. silver coinage alloy of 90% silver and 10% copper. Each coin originally weighed 12.50 grams and measured approximately 30.6 millimeters in diameter.
The series was produced at the Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco Mints. Philadelphia pieces normally carry no mint mark, while coins struck at Denver and San Francisco can carry D and S mint marks.
Franklin Half Dollar Specifications
| Denomination | Half Dollar / 50 Cents |
|---|---|
| Issue Years | 1948–1963 |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 12.50 grams |
| Diameter | 30.6 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Designer | John R. Sinnock |
What Are Full Bell Lines?
Collectors sometimes describe especially well-struck Franklin Half Dollars as having “Full Bell Lines,” commonly abbreviated FBL. The term refers to the horizontal lines near the bottom of the Liberty Bell on the reverse. On strongly struck and well-preserved examples, these lines remain clearly defined and largely uninterrupted.
Full Bell Lines are a collector designation rather than a different type of Franklin Half Dollar. The designation can make certain high-grade examples particularly desirable to collectors.
From Walking Liberty to Franklin to Kennedy
The Franklin Half Dollar replaced Adolph A. Weinman's Walking Liberty Half Dollar in 1948. That change was historically significant because the Walking Liberty's final year, 1947, marked the end of the traditional symbolic Liberty on circulating U.S. coins for many decades.
The Franklin design had a much shorter life. After President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, the government moved rapidly to honor him on a circulating coin. The Franklin Half Dollar ended after 1963 and was replaced by the Kennedy Half Dollar.
Together, the three designs form a clear sequence in twentieth-century half-dollar history: Walking Liberty from 1916–1947, Franklin from 1948–1963 and Kennedy beginning in 1964.
The Franklin Half Dollar at CoinCrafters
CoinCrafters' Ben Franklin Half Dollar Coin Ring begins with a genuine U.S. Franklin Half Dollar. The original 90% silver coin is formed and finished by hand into a ring while preserving recognizable elements of its historic design.
Because the original coin itself becomes the finished jewelry, each ring carries genuine details from the Franklin portrait, Liberty Bell, lettering and other elements of the coin from which it was made.
Sources & Further Reading
This history was prepared using information from the United States Mint. For additional information, visit the U.S. Mint's 1948 announcement of the Benjamin Franklin Half Dollar, announcement of the first Franklin Half Dollars being struck, and its Half Dollar history.