1953 50C, FBL MS(PCGS#86664)

Summer 2025 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

4567

Grade

MS66+FBL

Price

1,800

Lot Description

Circulation strike half dollar production at the Philadelphia Mint dipped to 2,668,120 pieces in 1953 - the second lowest total in the Franklin series. Understandably scarce in an absolute sense, Mint State survivors pose further challenges for specialists. Rick Tomaska (2023) observes that "the 1953-P [sic] bears the distinction of producing the most weakly struck Philadelphia issues in the series." As a sharply rendered Gem that ranks among the finest seen by both PCGS and CAC, the coin offered here is a rare strike and condition rarity for this date. Highly lustrous and nicely toned, both sides are overlaid in gently mottled rose-russet and champagne-pink iridescence. An impressive specimen that is sure to find its way into a high-ranked Franklin half dollar set on the PCGS Set Registry.