Just picked this up out of a roll I got a few hours ago. I was a little shocked to see it. I haven't had a whole lot of practice grading Franklins so I was hoping for a little help. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
I don't think it's a proof, after looking a little closer it looks like it may have been polished but that's ok cause it only cost me $.50.
That is not a proof but could be polished. Tough to grade from pics. Anyway, great find for face value. Congrats! TC
Tough to tell from pics, and Franklins are hard for me to grade anyway. It is a nice looking coin though. ( I hope it hasn't been polished, that would be a shame)
It is very hard to tell with these photos, but the 1961 Franklin are generally known for having a poor strike. Here a link on how the grade Franklins that is helpful. http://wnccoins.com/0014.htm and if you are really interested in Franklins, I suggest purchasing Rick Tomaska book "The Complete Guide to Franklin Half Dollars" BTW: Good pick up for .50C
The 1961 were notorious for weak strikes which resulted in loss of hair detail on the obverse and bell line and eagle feather detail on the reverse. The top coin is a rather nice example of a Mint State coin found in circulation, albeit from a roll, and would probably fall in the range of MS-63 What concerns me are the cuts in the field on the obverse in conjunction with the nicks on Franklin’s cheek. The weak hair detail does not concern me for this grade. On this particular coin, it is very hard to determine what is going on just to the left of the bell crack? There is lots of original luster left on this coin, look at the motto area on the bell, it still has a bit of frostiness to it, a good sign. In hand or with better images provided, my analysis of condition could change. The second coin to me is still MS but it’s going to be rather low on the scale, just making 60-61 at best. There appears to be what looks like handling damage to the bell just left of the crack and Ben has taken a few significant hits as well, if this in fact a damaged area due to post mint handling, the grade will significantly fall off, maybe to even Genuine status. 1 out of 2 ain’t bad Happy Collecting
I thought they looked similar, the refracted light made it look like two different coins, not two different angles on the same coin. The blemish I seen to the left of the bell crack is really noticeable in one scan, but subdued in the other...but at least I did point it out on both images. This is exactly why good images are required to correctly grade a coin on a message board...I still feel it's a MS but a low MS. If that is some type of handling damage on the reverse, all bets are off. Thanks for pointing this out.
Thanks for the input everyone. Like I said I'm no Frankie expert and pulled it out of one the bank rolls. Good pick up for only face value. Thanks much
