Posted 3 years ago
kristin
(14 items)
Of the coin collection that my dad had, this was the oldest Ben Franklin half dollar I could find (1951). Never even knowing this design existed, I was fascinated with this coin.
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Fashion
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The Killer Mobile Device for Victorian Women
Adrift in a sea of digital apps for every imaginable function, we often feel our needs are met better today than in any previous era. But consider the chatelaine, a device popularized in the 18th century that attached to the waist of a wo…
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If These Shirts Could Talk: The Tantalizing Tales Behind Used Clothes
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Design
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Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
The meerschaum pipes carved in Eastern Europe at the end of the 19th century are among the most bizarre and improbable concoctions in decorative art. Some feature …
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In the Hot Seat: Is Your Antique Windsor a Fake?
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Machines
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Bizarro Beauty Products, from 1889 to Now
We tend to think of the union of vanity and technology as a particularly modern affliction. It's only recently that science brought the world botox and collagen injections, skin peels, liposucti…
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Love at First Kite: How Pizza and Pente Led to One Oklahoman's High-Flying Obsession
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Culture
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Pin-Up Queens: Three Female Artists Who Shaped the American Dream Girl
It’s easy to think of pin-up art as a charming relic of the old boys’ club—images that might line the walls …
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Say Ahhh: An Oral Surgeon's Quest to Reimagine the Garage-Band Guitar
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Collectibles
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Tokens for Sweethearts, in Times of War
A keepsake, an item that recognizes a loved one, strikes a deep, sentimental chord in each of us—particularly that of a sweetheart. The popularity of keepsakes grew in the United States during the period from 1917 to 1919 as our country ent…
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American Picker Dream, Part I: Mike Wolfe On His Love Affair With Bikes
I was walking to school one day and saw all these bikes in the garbage. I was just amazed because I didn't have one and I found it incredible that anyone was throwing them out. So I gathered…
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You know, the Franklin half dollar was not a very popular coin. A lot of people thought it was ugly. I actually like it.
I like it a lot too. I always thought Ben Franklin looked so happy-hearted so it made me smile looking at this.
This is my favorite coin series in silver. In fact my Franklin set #1 won the award for "Best Presented Set" at the NGC Collectors Society for the 2010 year that just ended. Along with that, I won the "Journal Author" of the year award for this same past year, having won the same award for 2008 also. Not wanting to "toot my own horn" but just wanting to share my knowledge of the hobby I truly love and for this particular coin series in general. Google that site (NGC Collectors Society) if you get the chance. It's a great place for someone like yourself just starting out. My user name there is WKF which is my initials and would be what you would look for in case you wanted to check out some of my some 4-500 "graded coins" or if you wanted to read some of my work. Again congrats on your start into "Numismatics" and good luck to you and yours in all that you set out to do. Real quickly, most past years and every year since 1950 the U S mint has minted coins with what is known as a "business strike" finish and also minted the same coins with a "Proof" finish. (the proofs are much shinier and most have "frosted" devices and "mirrored" background fields. The former were minted for general circulation and the latter mainly for collectors. The Franklin half I will post today is a gorgeous example of a "proof strike" from the year 1956. All Franklin halves were minted starting in 1948 through 1963 when the Kennedy half took over. The proofs however were only struck starting in 1950 and for the Franklin, ended in 1963. Sorry for the rambling. So much to say but only so much room before "data overload". regards, Kerry