*Half the Coin it Used to Be* The Rise and Fall of the US Half-Dollar Pt. I **Contest for SILVER!!**

We use it when there's a need: toll booths, candy machines, street beggars (kidding) --but typically, the change we keep in our pockets and purses is not something we usually care all that much about. We throw it around, leave it in trays at convenience stores... even find it on the ground.

But this has not always been the case. To put things in perspective, blogger Kirk Hatsian remembers a time when a dime in 1930s Connecticut would get you both an ice-cold draft beer at the pub, or a ticket to a show at the movies!!

(So like.. ~10x increase compared to today, at least?!)

In this post, I will be focusing on one particular piece of "change:" the US mint fifty-cent piece, or what's also known as the "US Half Dollar."

Unless you're a coin collector, you probably haven't come across very many US half dollars in your day-to-day life; they're not a very widely used coin anymore; especially seeing as, in 2018, 0.50 USD doesn't even get you half a cup of Starbucks--let alone five tickets to the movies. Many of us have probably never even seen a fifty cent piece; or if we have, it was quite likely the "JFK" or "Kennedy" version, named after the just-assassinated POTUS from the year 1963.
But that's getting a bit ahead of ourselves. The coins I'm focusing on today are two and three iterations prior to the JFK edition, that started production in 1964. The coins I will be discussing are what are known as, in order of production, the Standing Liberty fifty-cent piece, then the Ben Franklin half dollar.

The Walking Liberty Fifty-cent Coin (1916 - 1947)

Before I go a bit more in-depth into the numismatic, or strict study of these coins, per se; I'd like to talk about some of the more particular, or personal "histories" of these specific coins.

I came across these pieces after having been approached, as I said, by my mother who'd seen a Steemit post I'd made a couple of weeks before about a Lincoln penny I'd found during my recent travails into coin-roll "hunting;" (i.e., searching through rolls of coin--mainly pennies--looking for rarities, hoping to find that "jackpot" coin; usually some form of "doubled-die:" meaning the coin had been pressed twice, creating literally a "doubled" impression on one side. Both "error" coins and coins considered as being in "mint condition"--i.e., pieces in pristine shape, graded on a scale of 60 to 70-- can be worth thousands of dollars, and are quite sought after by collectors.

So my mother said: "Hey, I've got this old box of coins that my father had from when he used to collect them--would you like to see?"

Of course it took me two milliseconds to answer "Helk yeah I would!!"

I had no idea what I would find. For all I knew, it was a box of old subway tokens.

I'd never met my maternal grandfather, "Cal" he was called. "Grandpa Cal".

My uncle--my mother's younger brother, Calvin Johnson, was named after Grandpa (and Calvin's one of my favorite relatives, so I could imagine what his father was like! :)

I could write a post just on the little bit I've learned about my grandfather's life. I know he graduated from Princeton, then got a master's degree from Northwestern U in Illinois, where he met my grandmother, Eve. They traveled all over the country during his work as a journalist. He even worked for a time as Communications Director for the House of Representatives in Washington State. I know he served in the military; I believe it was the US Marine Corps. during "Korea," as it's often called. (I also found a Good Conduct Medal from the USMC in his possessions, so that's pretty cool...)

So you could see how the man might have accumulated quite an impressive stash of coinage over the years! Unfortunately, it may have also been this adventurous life which led to his untimely demise. Grandpa Cal passed away from a heart attack one day while teaching at Central Washington State University in my hometown of Ellensburg, Washington.

Less than ten years later I would be born, and almost thirty years after that, I would receive these coins.

And here is one of my favorites. Meet, the 1943 Walking Liberty:

(30.6 mm, or 1.20 in. diameter)

Weighing in at just over 12 grams--12.5 to be exact--this bad boy (or girl, rather) is just over 11 grams of pure silver. That comes to, at today's prices, just under 6 Dollars US. That's purely what's called the "melt value;" i.e., what the piece would be worth in melted silver. So merely in melt value, the coin is worth around 12 times its original, or "face" value.

That's not too shabby.

(Although, comparatively speaking, you probably could have taken yourself and a sweetie to the movies--with enough left over for a popcorn--for fifty cents in 1943. Today you'd be lucky to get into a matinee showing with the coin's value. But I guess that's a testament to the power of inflation. Money and value and their correlations form a complex web! And although I guess it also shows that silver is not necessarily the best "store of value"--because the same amount of it in 1943 would yield a much higher return than it would today. BUT, it's a heck of a lot better than cash!!)

But what about its collector, or numismatic value? How much would someone who specializes in coins be willing to pay for a piece like this? That's going to be a bit more subjective--relegated to the judgement and opinion of, first and foremost, the "experts" in the field, such as the PCGS--but getting your coins professionally graded costs money: close to $30 just to have one coin graded. No thanks!! (At least not right now. It may become reasonable in the future to utilize a service such as the PCGS; but I haven't made that decision as of now.)

But to give it an "amateur" opinion (you can be a judge of it yourself--and please do in the comments below), on a scale of 1 to 70--the typical scale used by numismatics--I'd unfortunately have to judge this one at probably around a ten or so: putting its numismatic value at probably around three times its melt, about 15 or 16 bucks. Which still isn't bad.

Putting aside any purely monetary values this coin may have, it's still an intriguing piece nonetheless. Just look at how intricate the folds of the dress; the silver rays of the sun:

The feathers in the Eagle's wing:

Not to mention the feel. Silver has this very soft and warm sensation to it; unlike the harder, colder metals of the modern zinc-plated variety.

The Walking Liberty half-dollar was designed by Adolph Weinman as a result of a competition held by the Commission of Fine Arts. Apparently Weinman's design presented a difficulty at first in being able to provide a sufficiently pleasing "strike" in the silver; but they were eventual able to succeed; resulting in what art historian Cornelius Vermeule eventually would consider to be one of US mint history's "most beautiful" coins.

I would agree.

What do you think?? Not everyone shared my opinion of Weinman's design; apparently some of that early vitriol toward Weinman's edition continued throughout the coin's term--1916 to 1947--allegedly leading to its eventual replacement.

Enter: The Franklin Half.

The Franklin Half Dollar (1948 - 1963)

Next up, we have what's known as the Franklin Half Dollar. I like the Franklin Half Dollar, too. It's cool. I mean, it's silver. It seems big (it's actual pretty much the same size as its predecessor, 30.6 mm; it's just the picture probably). Ben Franklin seemed like a neat dude. Did I say it's silver? Either way, it's nothing to throw underneath a soda machine. Unless you've got it like that. Which I don't. Yet.

So yeah... In 1948, US Mint's Chief Engraver, John R. Sinnock, was asked to create a new coin, inspired by Jean Antoine Houdon's statue of Benjamin Franklin. The other side held a picture of the Liberty Bell, "as it stands--" crack and all. An element which was met with disapproval by the Commission of Fine Arts out of fear that the coin would become the "butt" of jokes and other ridicule.

Nevertheless the design persisted, and continued up through the year 1963; when President John F. Kennedy's shocking assassination prompted the abrupt exchange of Kennedy's effigy for Franklin's on the face of the fifty-cent piece.

But here's Ben, in all his shining glory:

The design of this coin was ironic in a couple of ways. First of all, Ben Franklin was known to vehemently oppose putting portraits on coins; instead suggesting money should contain inscriptions of proverbs; particularly passages which related to the making of wise financial decisions. (Maybe even one of his own: for example, the classic: "A penny saved is a penny earned;" or another good one: "Rather go to bed without dinner than to rise in debt."). Secondly, as we shown below, the reverse of the coin contained a bird Franklin was known to truly dislike: namely, the American Bald Eagle (is it cuz of the bald thing, Benny?? Reports state Franklin considered the eagle to be sort of a "low-class" animal; basically, just a bird of "ill-repute." ). If Franklin got his way, there probably would have been a wild turkey on the coin instead. (Sounds kinda cool to me!). This may also be why the artist designed the size of the eagle to be so small. If you look below, there is just this little, strange-looking kind of bird thing--an "eagle" (supposedly)--to the right of the bell:

According to the rule books, it was "necessitated by law" that an American Eagle be included in the design of any US fifty cent piece. So perhaps this was Sinnock's way of slyly paying tribute to Franklin and begrudgingly adding this puny little eagle on the reverse. I don't know: I guess we'd have to ask Mr. Sinnock.

As far as value of the coin, the Franklin Halves, being essentially the same make up as the Walking Liberty, puts Ben's melt value at $5.95 USD, as of this post's writing. It's collector's value isn't much higher. Until you're in the mid-mint states, such as MS 63 and above, this coin's going to run at about half the value of a Walking Liberty; so around $9 - $10 USD. One interesting little quirk regarding the numismatic value of the Franklin half has to do with the quality of casting of the liberty bell: specifically what are called "full Bell Lines," in the pricing books "FBL." If you take a close look at the Liberty Bell on the reverse, you can see a series of seven lines--four, then three--running horizontally along the bottom of the bell. Depending on how well your coin shows these "FBLs," its value increases almost exponentially. For example, a 1963 MS65+ runs about $55 USD. If it has full bell lines? It's a cool $3000.

My versions? I don't know... You be the judge!! (I think the one shown above looks pretty good; but I'm not sure it's quite a MS65+ FBL :) It might be about somewhere in-between, though...

But here's what I'd like to do: Two things. I'd like to "share the wealth," so to speak--spread some of this silver to my fellow Steemians--But I also want to do something to support the platform, and promote quality; meaning: unique, informative, creative, contributory, or provocative posts--an "I'll know it when I see it" kind of thing. I also think, if my grandfather were alive today, he would think Steemit was great; so I feel confident using these coins to support Steemit.

So. How to do this. (This will be my first attempt at a "contest," etc. type-thing--). It seems that posts about money, especially metal gold, silver, etc.--have a relatively decent "following" on Steemit; thereby posts relating to the subject tend to have also relatively "decent" payouts--at least "enough" to cover what I have in mind: namely, **provided this post has a profit greater than or equal to enough to cover S & H, so say around 2 SBD (I might use a small sum of my own SBD on bots to promote the post is why I say profit), then I will then choose ONE post, a link to which should be left in the comments below, which best exemplifies, in my opinion, what I have emphasized above regarding "quality" content: something new, interesting, and smart. The author of that post will receive, of their choice either one Walking Liberty Half Dollar, or one Franklin Half Dollar of my choice (i.e., may or may not be one of the exact coins shown--but will be close) to the US address of their choice (sorry, I cannot ship internationally at this time :( If someone who cannot receive the item within the United States wins, we will work something out--just know it will likely, unfortunately, be something other than silver.). I hope this generates some views, and if anything, someone gets a cool piece of old silver!! Join me next week for a closer look at the JFK half dollar, it's variations, and why it is no longer made.

Hi-Ho Silver, Away!!!!!!!!!!

(pixabay.com)

Leave your comments, questions, concerns below and I will do my best to respond. Thanks for reading!

Sources:

https://www.usacoinbook.com/coins/2829/half-dollars/walking-liberty/1943-P/
http://articles.courant.com/1993-06-25/news/0000100269_1_main-street-street-corner-amusement
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_Liberty_half_dollar
https://www.usacoinbook.com/coins/half-dollars/franklin/
https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/franklin-half-dollar-values-4034072
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_half_dollar
https://www.goldeneaglecoin.com/half-dollars/franklin-half-dollars
https://www.pcgs.com/prices/priceguidedetail.aspx?c=734&title=franklin+half+dollar
https://www.moneycrashers.com/famous-ben-franklin-quotes-money-finance/
(All other images are the author's, gjones15)

P.s., As the title suggests, my plan is, as I continue through the "box," to continue to post about my discoveries, and share with whoever is interested some things about coins and their history's, etc.; this being the first of the series (There are many more treasures in my chest mwahahah!!). Again, thanks for reading. Don't forget to upvote and re-steem!!