BRILLIANT UNCIRCULATED U.S. FRANKLIN SILVER HALF DOLLAR

FOR SALE IS 1 RARE CHOICE GEM BU+++ (BRILLIANT UNCIRCULATED) 50C U.S. FRANKLIN HALF DOLLAR.

Designer John R. Sinnock

Composition .900 silver .100 copper

Net weight 12.50 grams

Diameter 30.63 mm

Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross had long admired Benjamin Franklin and wanted to see him featured on a coin. In 1947, she asked Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock to create designs for a Franklin half dollar. Sinnock based his work on earlier designs, but he died before finishing the project. His successor, Gilroy Roberts, completed the designs.

When the Mint submitted the new coin to the Commission of Fine Arts for review, the Commission criticized the small eagle and argued against showing the crack in the Liberty Bell.