Franklin Half Dollars

The Franklin Half Dollar marked a couple of very important changes to our coinage. First, this series completed the conversion of our coin designs from allegorical figures to portraits of Americans important to our history. These coins also marked the end of what many consider the golden age of American coinage art. The previous half-dollar design, the Walking Liberty, was the last design remaining from the early 20th century that had included the Mercury dime, Standing Liberty quarter and the Augustus Saint-Gaudens double eagle. The idea of a Franklin coin began with mint director Nellie Taylor Ross who selected Franklin because of his many contributions as a Founding Father, diplomat, inventor, scientist, publisher and printer. The Franklin series lends itself to set building because there are no major rarities too expensive for most collectors.