Tales of Coins and Franklin Halves
They are unique to us now as monetary units, as they are not really in circulation and not really out but are rare. They are wonderful, however, and have a feel and memories for those of us who grew up in the fifties and sixties. I am speaking of the Franklin halves—the silver half-dollars with Ben Franklin’s bust silhouette on one side and the Liberty Bell on the other side (with the Latin words “e pluribus unum,” as well of course, as the year and number of minting).
When we were growing up on the farm in a small community in New England, we were given chores and allowances, of course. But we were also spoiled by relatives who would give us Franklin Halves for the most contrived of extra chores: Pop (our grandfather on our father’s side) would have us catch night crawlers (big fat mud worms he used to go fishing), and would pay us a nickel a piece. This meant Franklin halves when we were in the tens…. Our Gramma (our grandmother on our mother’s side) would get us those paper and cardboard booklets with the slots for Franklin halves—for SAVING the Franklin halves, not spending them, that is—and would award us one or two after painting her garden rocks white or washing a barrel of cucumbers she was planning to make pickles out of. Our great aunt Bertha, a cute monkey-like little lady would come for a visit from Canada, and rather than give us Canadian coins (which were just as delightful to us, really), she would give us Franklin halves for doing nothing at all, for just being cute.
Besides the personal affinity we might have, however, for Franklin halves, there are numerous reasons these rare coins are so wonderful. Novice and seasoned coin collectors know the value of these fifty-cent pieces: according to coin aficionados, they were only minted for sixteen years, from 1948 to 1963; according to Charles Baker of the Beverly Hills Coin Club (quoted by collectorsinternet.com), thousands of Franklin halves were melted in “the great silver melt of 1964 through1968 and 1979 through 1983;” and Franklin halves carry a fair price market value of anywhere between $11 and over $4,000!
I have a few coins, those quarters that emblematize my home state, cool coins from other countries, and those coins that were minted in the year I was born. I just looked up the “value” of the 1958 Franklin halves: it is worth between 21 and 138 dollars!—after being worth just fifty cents, of course, in that year and for those years we were kids spending, saving, or collecting them…not because they were “valuable” in the coin collectors’ sense but because they were so unique, heavy, oversized and cool—cherished because they were given by hard-working grand parents and great aunts who would be shocked to know the exponentially increased value of Franklin halves today.
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