Silver calculator / Coin guide
Franklin half dollars dated 1948-1963
Franklin Half Dollar Value: Silver and Condition
The Franklin half carries the same nominal silver weight as the other covered 90% half dollars. Its collector value is a separate question. Record the date and mint, and avoid cleaning or polishing a coin before seeking an assessment.
Silver spot
$51.75/ozt
Metal prices by MetalChartsUSD per troy ounce. As of . Fetched .
Estimated melt per coin
$18.72
Metal prices by MetalChartsUses the dated spot shown here and nominal silver content; no offer or collectible premium.
Price may be out of date. The saved quote is older than 36 hours or flagged stale. Check the source before relying on a metal estimate.
Melt value is an estimate of the silver content only, at the dated spot price shown. It is not an offer to buy or sell, and not investment advice. Dealer offers are often below melt, and collectible coins can be worth more.
Silver content and the formula
Nominal total weight: 12.50 g. Composition: 90% silver. Silver content: 11.25 g, approximately 0.36170 troy ounces per coin.
Standard weight and fineness set by the Coinage Act of 1873, sections 13 and 15 (linked below). Ounce values are rounded for display; calculations use silver grams divided by 31.1034768.
Melt value (USD) = (11.25 g ÷ 31.1034768 g/ozt) × silver spot (USD/ozt).
Source: Coinage Act of 1873, sections 13 and 15, 17 Stat. 426-427. Nominal original weights are used; wear and loss of metal can lower actual silver content. A troy ounce is different from the ordinary household ounce.
What can make one worth more?
The manufacturing table records fewer halves struck at Denver in calendar year 1949 than in 1951. That is a production comparison, not a ranking of surviving rarity or a grade-specific price. Strike quality and preservation require physical inspection.
Date, mint mark and condition
Surface marks, cleaning and wear can affect collector interest even when two coins have identical silver content. This guide makes no numeric grade or strike-designation claim.
Keep the date, mint and any suspected variety together in your notes. A mint mark identifies a production location; it is not a grade. Preserve the surfaces rather than cleaning a coin to make it look brighter. If an unusual coin warrants professional assessment, have it graded by PCGS or NGC; neither service sponsors this guide.
Suspected errors need authentication
Doubled-looking letters, a weak design or unusual color can have more than one explanation. This guide does not identify an error variety from a description or assign a premium. A damaged or altered coin is not automatically a mint error. Obtain an independent assessment before attaching a variety name or collectible value.
Mint-report production records
These are the manufacturing counts and categories stated in the linked Mint publications, not a survival census or a grade-price table. They can include proofs, assay pieces and production outside the year on the coin. They should not be substituted silently for circulation-strike catalog mintages.
| Issue and report category | Pieces | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Half dollars struck at Denver in calendar year 1949 | 4,132,604 | Director of the Mint, Domestic and Foreign Coins 1792-1965, table C27, printed p. 50 |
| Half dollars struck at Denver in calendar year 1951 | 9,497,208 | Director of the Mint, Domestic and Foreign Coins 1792-1965, table C27, printed p. 50 |
Sources and corrections
Last checked: . Weight/composition: Coinage Act of 1873, sections 13 and 15, 17 Stat. 426-427. Production sources are linked beside every count above. No PCGS, NGC or Red Book price-guide tables or descriptions are reproduced.
If a date, composition or count is wrong, send a correction with the source and page number. We review corrections and log changes in the source record.