Sell Franklin Half Dollars for More By Following These Guidelines

By Glen Phillips


In the coin buying and selling business, one of the more attractive ventures nowadays is to sell Franklin half dollars. Franklin half dollars come in two versions; the first is a collectible or numismatic coin, while the second fits into the junk silver coin category, being made of 90% silver and 10% copper. Regardless of which coins you have, you can be confident that you can sell Franklin half dollars for a profit owing to its inherent popularity and value.

Franklin half dollars were minted in the period from 1948 to 1963 in only three cities: Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. Coins from the earlier period, especially those created between 1948 and 1950, are of special interest to coin collectors because the number of mints in the country in full operation at the time was relatively low. Regardless of their later surge in numbers, Franklin half dollars are still considered to be relatively rare, and can sell for a premium in uncirculated condition.

Now, most of the Franklin half dollars available are actually considered to be "junk silver". That is because although they contain a great deal of silver, this terminology distinguishes them from coins which are close to bullion quality, that is, coins which are made almost entirely from pure silver. Franklin half dollars are usually sold in bulk, grouped together with other like coins in bags with is what is called a "face value". The face value of a bag of junk silver coins is the value of the bag if the coins were to be used in everyday transactions without regard to their actual value with regards to their metal content. It is typical to find junk silver bags with face values of $100, $250, $500 and $1,000.

If you wanted to approximate the actual value of the coins in the bag, you would find out the amount of silver contained in each individual coin: the information is easily accessible and uniform, since it is expected that the coin will contain an exact amount of silver each time it is minted. Once you have that information, multiply that value by the number of coins in a bag. To calculate the number of coins in each bag, you only need to find out how many coins would equal the face value of the bag were you to count the coins as you would any other coin: there would be 200 half dollars in a $100 bag, and so on. Multiply the amount of silver you have in total (which would be the number of coins multiplied by the amount of silver in each coin) by the current, or "spot", price of silver on the market, and you would arrive at an approximate actual value of the bag.

To maximize your investment should you decide to sell Franklin half dollars, it is important to find a reliable coin dealership through which you can get a fair and competitive price for your coins. Even if the spot price of silver is well-known at any given time, you cannot expect coin dealers to meet you at that exact price, owing to their need to turn in a profit as well. As such, you should expect to be quoted at a lower value than spot price; the trick is to find the dealer that offers the most competitive price, i.e. the price that takes you closest to the spot price wherever possible.

Choosing coin dealers with whom to do business can be a bit tricky, but it doesn't hurt to look at customer feedback if it is at all possible-this will be an indicator of the customer service you can expect. You don't want to deal with someone who might be running a fly-by-night operation either-the duration of time a business has been conducting sales can be reassuring in that respect. Like mentioned previously, doing some comparison shopping with regards to price quotes can also help to increase your profit.

Considering that the price of silver has gone up tremendously over the years, anyone with previous investments in silver can cash in on their investments when they sell Franklin half dollars. The industry is thriving, and it is more than willing to welcome your business.




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