Approximately 482 Million Franklin Half Dollars were minted between 1948 – 1963. Far less than the Morgan Dollar at approximately 650 million!
In addition, millions of Franklin Halves were melted from 1964 – 1968 during the “Great Silver Melts” leaving fewer for collectors. Combined with the fact that certain years have far fewer Franklin half dollars than other years, one can easily see that the year a Franklin half dollar coin can mean a significant difference in the commanded price. Add in the variation of production between the mints and you have a very attractive collector coin.
The Denver mint struck the bulk of the Franklin silver coins due primarily to it’s proximity to the silver mines in Colorado. Franklin halves struck in the San Francisco mint are sought after by many collectors due to the limited numbers of Franklins and high quality of the San Francisco mint.
