1955 Franklin Half Dollar

1955 is the scarcest year by far among all Franklin half dollars – in fact, only the Philadelphia mint made halves that year. Less than 3 million were made, and that even includes proof specimens. There’s much collector demand placed on 1955 Franklin half dollars, with both year-set collectors and date-and-mintmark collectors descending on the single business-strike issue minted.

Here’s a breakdown of the mintage figures for the 1955 business-strike and proof specimens:

• 1955, 2,498,181 minted; $20

• 1955 proof, 378,200; $100

*The 1955 business-strike value listed above is for an example in Very Fine-20 grade.

Thankfully, many uncirculated specimens of the 1955 half dollar were saved early on, meaning they aren’t terribly expensive to buy today. In fact, you could buy a 1955 Franklin half dollar in Mint State-65 for under $75. Of course, as you would suspect, a 1955 full bell lines Franklin half dollar is highly sought after and is a great purchase for coin collectors who are true Franklin half aficionados – or those who simply want a beautiful coin that is in high-demand from many collectors.

Proof 1955 half dollars are not difficult to locate, but consider taking a little extra time to buy one that has brilliant surfaces, for clouded, spotted halves are commonplace among proofs from that year.