Ok you FBL Franklin Experts

[MorganMan]

I found 2 rolls of these, all alike. What say you on the possibilities of FBL?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edit: The reason I am confused, is I have seen some Halves with strong bell lines on both sides, but weak in the center.. These seem to be strong in the center, but kinda weak on the right side.....

 

I am no Franklin wizard, so a little advice needed.

 

MM

[Amanda]

Well, I find FBL Franklins for my dad from rolls he gets all the time (so he gives me allowance ), so I'll tell you what I think from the image (and, admittedly it is tough to capture bell lines in an image).

 

Disregarding the various contact marks in the area, looking at the right side of the top set of lines, well, they seem a little weak, especially the bottom line. This could be an effect from the image, though.

 

It is my experience that the most difficult area to have FBL is just to the left of the crack in the bell. From your image, it is difficult for me to discern whether the lines are there or not.

 

Basically, for FBL, you need both sets of lines to cross the bell unbroken.

 

I hope this helps!

 

-Amanda

[WoodenJefferson]

So hard to tell now days which way they will really go under the guise of a grader or by looking at a picture. If it's early in the day and the Visine bottle is still capped it might not go...then again if it's late in the day...well you know the rest of the story.

 

Rule of thumb looking at pictures of Bell Lines...if they cast a shadow it will probably be FBL

 

Somebody hail LucyBop as she's flying past the 1/4 mile marker, she'll know.

[MorganMan]

New pictures added in 1st post to show right side better.

 

MM

[coinman1794]

Those coins MIGHT get an FBL. The lines look like they are very well defined, though there might be enough weakness in the bottom center to void FBL at both services, NGC and PCGS. However, even if they decide the strike is good enough, the tiny ticks might be enough to negate the designation; the affect of ticks on an FBL designation is very subjective at the services.

 

Overall, the coin is much better than average, but there is no way to guarrantee an FBL.

[LucyBop]

This is a tough call, because it appears different from the different angles...

 

 

I am leaning towards non FBL, a just miss, but, I might change my opinion with the coin in hand...

 

as stated, NGC looks for both rows of lines to be complete without interuption (a small tick is usually acceptable) while PCGs looks at the bottom lines only...

 

 

What year are these Franklins?

[MAULEMALL]

Hi Lucy

[James_OldeTowne]

I believe there is a bagmark breaking the continuity of the lower set of bell lines (toward the right side) which would prevent the FBL designation, at least by NGC's more stringent standards. If you really want the FBL, this is a case where I think you'll need to take advantage of PCGS' looser standard, and send it there.

[MikeKing]

I suspect there are too many hits, even on the lower lines to be FBL but I'm often proven wrong with these things.

 

Hey LucyBop

[MorganMan]

Lucy, sorry, I meant to put it in post. They are 1963-D's

 

MM

[SkyMan]

I don't think these would FBL given the areas of weakness and hits that are already mentioned. Also, as the above, you'd have a better shot of getting FBL at PCGS than at NGC.

[LucyBop]

to all the cats that have told me hello..... smooooooooooooooch!

 

 

I believe PCGs to be alittle lenient on 60's issue Franklins for the FBL designation.

 

 

 

If you are considering submitting them to either NGC or PCGs, they need to be of GEM quality for a proper return on your investment. As a MS65FBL 63D would sell for enough funds to make the submission worthwhile.

 

The problem here is that GEM quailty Franklins from the 60's are rather tough to pull from rolls, as most will often be rather baggy dooming them to no higher then a 4 holder, which then becomes a $25 coin or so, even less if it doesn't get the FBL designation.

 

Again looking at your images, some have me saying no to FBL and some have me saying 'yeah, it has a shot'....

 

It is very tough to find a slamdunk FBL 63D with bell lines that can cut. Even tougher is the 63P. In fact, I built a top ten PCGs registry set that included a 1953S MS65FBL coin, and as far as a 63P all I could find was a MS64FBL specimen. The 63P in GEM is super scarce, the pops suggest there are many examples out there but there isn't.

 

The master Dies were reworked in 1960 to regain some of the detail lost on this series, as witnessed through the progression of the 1950's. Compare a 51d Franklin to a 58 - 59 Franklin and you'll see the lost detail.

 

The problem with the reworked dies was in the reverse, the mint didn't do a great job on the bell lines, making all 60's issues tough to find in FBL. The easiest year being 1960.

[Denver Dave]

 

This is a tough call, because it appears different from the different angles...

 

 

I am leaning towards non FBL, a just miss, but, I might change my opinion with the coin in hand...

 

as stated, NGC looks for both rows of lines to be complete without interuption (a small tick is usually acceptable) while PCGs looks at the bottom lines only...

 

I'll go with the HepCat...

[MorganMan]

Given your opinions, I may just cherrypick one of the best ones and submit with my next coins, then go from there. Thanks for the opinions. I really was expecting a flat NO answer, so I am a little pleased.

 

 

MM

[physics-fan3.14]

In my opinion, these would definitely not get FBL at NGC. Although the lines appear to be quite strong, there are way too many marks on the lines to qualify. I am not so sure about PCGS, as they are far more forgiving. If you have two rolls of these, your best bet will be to cherrypick the nicest ones (those having the strongest lines and least marks). If as you say they are all that strong, you should have no problem finding a couple of good ones.