Flawless Ben Franklins Found in the wild!!!

SilverForBrains

SilverForBrains

Bronze Member
Feb 1, 2012
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Hi,

I found 2 BU franklins, a 1961 and a 1963. absolutely beautiful looking. The 1961 in particular is almost flawless, with what looks like full bell lines. I attached one pic that shows both, but the rest of the pics are all the 1961. I'm wondering what I should expect to get for this coin. My price guide shows that with full bell lines, an MS-65 is worth quite a bundle, and an MS-66 even more. Can I get some opinions on if this coin could grade that high? if you need more photos let me know. thanks and happy hunting!

These were both pulled from the same Dunbar box of halves

DSCF6190.JPGDSCF6188.JPGDSCF6187.JPGDSCF6181.JPGDSCF6186.JPGDSCF6178.JPGDSCF6182.JPG
 

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I can't understand why someone would dump those
 

If you havent already i would check ebay SOLD listings. What people are actually paying in the market right now.
 

mAGma said:
If you havent already i would check ebay SOLD listings. What people are actually paying in the market right now.
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I agree ebay completed listings is the best price guide out there, I use it for almost everything. What I really need to know is if this coin will grade high enough to bother getting it certified.
 

Congrats on a couple of great finds! Those are some incredible finds, esp from mwr's. They obviously were recently dumped and it's good you found them before they lost their high mint luster from circulation. I found some nice AU+/UNC Ben's a couple of years ago from a cwr collection dump but I'd be even more surprised to find coins that nice from a box. Ben's are difficult to grade so I wouldn't want to offer any opinions on a grade. I'd suggest taking them to your LCS to hopefully get an expert opinion on them. Good luck and congrats again.
 

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Grading can be very subjective. I have heard of instances of someone getting a coin graded (even by reputable services like PCGS) and not agreeing with the grade. They then break the coin out of its holder and resubmit it under a different name and receive a different grade. The point I'm trying to make is that when the experts sometimes can't even agree on a coin they can hold, I certainly wouldn't trust anyone's opinion on a photo. I looked at the PCGS photograde website PCGS Photograde Online and my untrained eye can't see much difference between an AU Franklin and an MS Franklin.

The only way you'll ever know for absolute sure is to submit it and see what grade it gets. Only you can decide if its worth the expense. Good luck.
 

Sweet finds- for your sake hoping theres more of that collection dump to find

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just keep stacking, just keep stacking, stacking stacking stacking
 

I would submit them for grading. I'm not a true coin collector and am absolutely terrible and guessing the grade of coins. But for what it's worth those things look really good and I personally plan on submitting any coin that I find in a box that is in good enough condition to grade if the value is worth it. ( ie, I have found plenty of uncirculated looking 1964 halves and 40% halves, but they aren't really worth it even if they come out with a great grade on the slab.
 

ArkieBassMan said:
Grading can be very subjective. I have heard of instances of someone getting a coin graded (even by reputable services like PCGS) and not agreeing with the grade. They then break the coin out of its holder and resubmit it under a different name and receive a different grade. The point I'm trying to make is that when the experts sometimes can't even agree on a coin they can hold, I certainly wouldn't trust anyone's opinion on a photo. I looked at the PCGS photograde website PCGS Photograde Online and my untrained eye can't see much difference between an AU Franklin and an MS Franklin.

The only way you'll ever know for absolute sure is to submit it and see what grade it gets. Only you can decide if its worth the expense. Good luck.
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hey thanks for the photograde link. I agree, the only way to know for sure is to submit. Based on the photo grade, I think the coin can be an MS-65, at least it's possible. Im going to to ahead and submit.

Thanks for the posts guys, I'll keep you posted on what it grades!
 

SilverForBrains,
I've done a lot of research trying to figure out which Franklin's I should send in for grading and attribution. I'd say your 61 is easily MS64. It may be higher but that's what I'd say based off the pic's and my limited knowledge. Based on the close up picture, it doesn't look FBL. It looks weak to the left of the bell crack. But the picture may not be doing it justice. I will say that FBL Franklin's are one of the rare circumstances where true collectors value the NGC over the PCGS. They believe PCGS is too lenient on giving the FBL designation. I've also noticed that ANACS seems to grade them pretty tough.

Hopefully someone with a lot more knowledge than I will come along and help. If not, there is a Franklin Lover's website you can google. There is a lot of useful information and a person who might be able to help with any questions you have.
 

Owassokie said:
SilverForBrains,
I've done a lot of research trying to figure out which Franklin's I should send in for grading and attribution. I'd say your 61 is easily MS64. It may be higher but that's what I'd say based off the pic's and my limited knowledge. Based on the close up picture, it doesn't look FBL. It looks weak to the left of the bell crack. But the picture may not be doing it justice. I will say that FBL Franklin's are one of the rare circumstances where true collectors value the NGC over the PCGS. They believe PCGS is too lenient on giving the FBL designation. I've also noticed that ANACS seems to grade them pretty tough.

Hopefully someone with a lot more knowledge than I will come along and help. If not, there is a Franklin Lover's website you can google. There is a lot of useful information and a person who might be able to help with any questions you have.
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Thanks for the great info! I'll see if I can get a couple more pics of the bell lines up this weekend, I have a book but it only has six examples and it's not very clear where the cutoff point is. the other problem is I'm overly optimistic about everything. thanks for the website ref. too
 

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