NewP Mystery Franklin

[Danye West]

This is my newest Franklin from the Long Beach show. I bought it raw for $290 from a dealer who had about 10 franklins in 2x4s. I subsequently had it imaged, and sent it in to PCGS with a few other toners.

 

I was a bit nervous about whether it was AT, so I talked to some pros.

 

One Franklin guy said it looked like a QT (maybe 65+ if it graded straight) and a Bugs Bunny.

Dennis King agreed on the Bugs Bunny, and guessed it was a 65FBL.

A third collector who was sitting next to Dennis and I said it looked NT and 65 shot FBL.

 

It's kind of hard to ascertain some things about the coin from the picture, so here are some details.

-The obverse has silky, but not booming luster.

-Ben's cheek has light brown toning that looks a bit like dirt.

-The left obverse field is peach and yellow intermixed.

-The strike around the mouth is weak, but you can sort of see the Bugs.

-The reverse has great luster.

 

Three questions:

1. Is the coin, in your opinions, AT?

2. Will the coin be assigned the Bugs Bunny variety?

3. What grade will PCGS give it?

 

 

 

 

Franklin Lover's Bugs Image

 

My Image

 

 

[KMAG100]

Well I am not a Franklin expert and all I have to go off is the picture. First, I am not sure about gem...there are some good marks in the fields and in the hair mid coin on the obverse. Not sure if they show up so significant in hand or if its because of the magnification. What is going on with the top of Ben's head, some kind of mark up there. I think the color for NGC would be AT, but PCGS slabs anything so they just might grade it. I would call it an AT 64 from the pictures and no FBL. It looks in the picture Bugs to what I have seen on the Franklins. But there should be guys with much more experience commenting on this, it will be interesting to see what they think

[coinman_23885]

I think the toning is questionable, but I have seen far worse straight grade.

 

I'm not very big on varieties, but this does look like one of the "Bugs Bunny" varieties to me.

 

The grade depends on the luster. If the luster is all there in hand, and IF it straight grades, it may very well receive a gem grade. With that said, the luster does look very subdued to me. If that is the case, it should grade lower.

 

With regards to the FBL designation, I do not think it has any shot at NGC. I think it is also iffy at PCGS since there is a hit across the bell lines. Theoretically, this should preclude a FBL designation, but I would be lying to you if I said that I hadn't seen coins in FBL holders with similar hits.

 

Bottom Line: Throw it into a PCGS economy submission and roll the dice. What do you have to lose at this point?

[MarkFeld]

It looks like a naturally toned 65FBL to me.

[Danye West]

Thanks for the opinions.

ATS, people are equally split on whether it is NT.

[physics-fan3.14]

I think the toning is highly questionable. I would not buy it as NT.

 

I don't see any BB on yours.

 

If it does grade, and assuming the luster is good, I could see it as 65FBL (by PCGS standards - I would need to see a better picture of the top lines to know if it meets NGC/my standards. In your pictures, it doesn't meet NGC standards - but it does meet PCGS). There don't seem to be many marks (unless they are hidden in your picture), and the mark on his crown isn't severe enough to bring it down to 64.

 

I think you paid a *really* strong price for a gamble on a raw coin that I don't think will pay off. For your sake, I hope it does.

[coinman_23885]

I think you paid a *really* strong price for a gamble on a raw coin that I don't think will pay off. For your sake, I hope it does.

 

+1

[ldhair]

+2

[Raisethis2]

I think the bell lines on the left side might prevent it from FBL. I think otherwise it's an easy MS 65 to MS 66 and the color seems terrific.

[Nutmeg Coin]

PCGS is a better shot than NGC with unusual toning. Good luck.

 

Here is a GC example that sold around $250: http://www.greatcollections.com/Coin/192370/1954-Franklin-Half-Dollar-Bugs-Bunny-FS-401-PCGS-MS-65-FL-Toned

[Walkerfan]

It looks NT 65 FB to me.

 

 

[coinman_23885]

Did the OP ever submit the coin? If so, how did you do Dante?

[Danye West]

I did submit, but results have still not arrived

[coinman_23885]

I did submit, but results have still not arrived

 

If it is ATS, you may be waiting for a long time. They seem to have a prolonged shortage of graders there.

[Danye West]

Just got a grade in on the coin. PCGS MS65-No designation. I will resubmit to get the Bugs Bunny, its a $500 dollar difference easily.

[coinman_23885]

Just got a grade in on the coin. PCGS MS65-No designation. I will resubmit to get the Bugs Bunny, its a $500 dollar difference easily.

 

Congratulations!

 

P.S. You can also ask them to do a reconsideration on the bell lines while having them add the variety. I would also pay to have it True Viewed. I don't really care for True Views that much, but there are enough collectors who do and that may work in your favor if you ever sell it (and yes, someone purchasing a toner from me did cite having a True View as a positive factor so it matters for at least a small subset of collectors).

[physics-fan3.14]

Just got a grade in on the coin. PCGS MS65-No designation. I will resubmit to get the Bugs Bunny, its a $500 dollar difference easily.

 

Did you pay for the variety attribution the first time? You have to select that as the extra service. If you selected it and it is undesignated, it is probably not the variety. If you didn't select it, then they aren't going to voluntarily designate it.

 

I am happy for you that it got a straight grade. I still wouldn't buy it myself, but good for you. I am kind of surprised that it didn't get FBL at PCGS though....?

[Danye West]

I did do variety attribution, but I'm pretty sure despite PCGS it is the Bugs. My original concern was that the coin would not straight grade, I think with a resub it could get the designation plus FBL.

[coinman_23885]

I did do variety attribution, but I'm pretty sure despite PCGS it is the Bugs. My original concern was that the coin would not straight grade, I think with a resub it could get the designation plus FBL.

 

Reconsideration is definitely the way to go; you'll be guaranteed that it will come back no lower than MS65. If you do a regrade or crack it out, there is a chance that it could come back in a genuine details holder.

[coinman1794]

This type of toning sometimes does appear on 1954-D halves, and I think it is market acceptable, though there's a chance it has been helped. I'm not surprised that PCGS graded it.

 

The 1954-D FS-401 listed on Franklin Lover's site was found to be a series of die lines, and is not a good example to go by. Some of the 54-D FS-401s graded early on by PCGS would not be labeled today.

 

Your coin shows a very strong clash deformation on the neck, lip, and right side of the bell. Earlier impressions may have shown a tooth-like shape on the lip, but this very late die state seems to be missing those fine details, due to die erosion. There is only a very small chance that PGGS would agree to label it as a "Bugs Bunny."