Designer: John R. Sinnock, finished by Gilroy Roberts
In 1947, the days of the Walking Liberty Half Dollar came to an end, and Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross, a longtime fan of Benjamin Franklin, instructed chief designer John Flanagan to design a Benjamin Franklin Half Dollar. Flanagan got to work, swiping the Liberty Bell reverse design from his previous 1925 Sesquicentennial Commemorative Half Dollar. However, he died before he could finish the design, and Gilroy Roberts, the new chief designer, stepped up to complete his work. The finished product featured the profile of Benjamin Franklin on the obverse, and the Liberty Bell on the reverse, beside a small eagle to meet the legal requirement that an eagle must be featured on all U.S. Half Dollars.
The Franklin Half Dollar
No comments:
Post a Comment