1953-S Franklin Half, MS66+ PCGS CAC, The ‘Save 50 Grand’ Coin. I suppose that virtually every coin weenie who visits this site knows of the legendary rarity of Full Bell Lines 1953-S half dollars. For some strange reason, they are like unicorn teeth (and you know how rare those are) to find one with fully struck bell lines. So here you go, fresh back from PCGS and CAC grading and a near-miss 67, a coin “ga-ron-teed” to save you 50 grand. Oh, and it’s mighty pretty, too!
PS You think I’m kidding about the 50 grand, huh? The only comparables at PCGS I find are two sales of the same MS66 1953-S FBL half dollar, both in 2001: Bowers and Merena Rarities Sale, January 2001, lot 246, $69,000. Nice. Heritage Auctions, Atlanta Signature, August 2001, same coin, lot 6331, $35,075. Average ’em together, say 52 grand. Less 329 for this one, you’ve just saved $51,671. OK, I’m mostly having fun with all this, I admit it. Neither you nor I could buy that coin, as it’s ensconced in a current high-grade PCGS Franklin Halves Full Bell Lines Registry Set called JFS-1.