1949-S Franklin Half Dollar - F-AU (Fine to About Unc.) Choose by Grade - 1949S Ben Franklin Silver Half Dollar 1949 S - San Francisco Mint

This listing is for one 1949-S Ben Franklin Half Dollar 1949S, as pictured. "S" mint mark, denoting the San Francisco Mint. Choose by GradeThe Franklin half dollar was struck by the United States Mint from 1948 to 1963. The fifty-cent piece pictures Founding Father Benjamin Franklin on the obverse and the Liberty Bell on the reverse. A small eagle was placed to the right of the bell to fulfill the legal requirement that half dollars depict the figure of an eagle. Mint director Nellie Tayloe Ross had admired Franklin, and wanted him to be depicted on a coin. In 1947, she instructed her chief engraver, John R. Sinnock, to prepare designs for a Franklin half dollar. Sinnock's designs were based on his earlier work, but he died before their completion. The designs were completed by Sinnock's successor, Gilroy Roberts. The Mint submitted the new designs to the Commission of Fine Arts ("Commission") for its advisory opinion. The Commission disliked the small eagle and felt that depicting the