The Planchet
A Publication of the Indianapolis Coin Club
Issue Number 481
April 2007

The Meetings of the Indianapolis Coin Club are held the fourth Monday of eachmonth at the Nora Library at 8625 Guilford Avenue in Indianapolis, Indiana. TheMeetings consist of a business session, an intermission, educational program, and anumismatic auction. Doors open at 6:00pm, meeting will begin at 7:00pm.

The next meeting will be
Monday,April 23, 2007!
ICC Recognizes National Coin Week

“Check Your Change”
April 16th—22nd“Check Your Change” - In an effort to make people aware of coin collectingand that there is a Coin Club in the Indianapolis area, the ICC members are going to
distribute over $250.00 of obsolete coins into circulation during this week. So foryou members that showed up at the March meeting and bought bags, this is the week
to spend them. The media has been notified of what we are up to. The Hendricks
County Flyer has already ran the story on their front page. We look for more of themto get hold of us and run our story.
At the meeting in April, I am going to set aside some time during the meeting forpeople to tell us about their experiences or reactions to spending old money. We arehoping that we will see some new faces too. I personally would like to thank all themembers of the NCW team that made this happen. James Held, Committee Chairman, Mike White, Don King, and Tom Ferverda without them this would have neverhappened.

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$$$$ “ALWAYS BUYING” $$$$
VINTON G. DOVE

PAYING TOP PRICES FOR ALL U.S. COINS

Certified Public Accountant
Collecting U.S. Coins Since 1952

DON’T SELL WITHOUT GETTING OUR OFFER!!!

LARRY HYLTONBROWNSBURG, IN

ANA, ISNA-LM, CSNS-LM(317) 852-8458

443 Wellington Road
Indianapolis, IN 46260(317) 257-1906
Fax(317) 257-2220

Jim Fuson
Retired Teacher & Coach
R.O.M.A. COIN

Collector of old U.S. Coins
And old Sports Cards
Also have some coins and cards for sale5795 E. Co. Rd. 350 S., Plainfield, IN 46168
ICC & ANA
(317) 839-5178

Specializing in U.S. RARE COINSORVA (ORV) DETRICK
Professional Numismatist

PO Box 267
Donnelsville, Ohio
45319-0267
Phone: 937-882-6730
Cell #: 937-284-0412
E-mail: Romacoin@aol.com

Advertise in the Indianapolis Coin Club Newsletter! The cost is only $35.00 fora business card size ad for 12 issues!

The 2007 Indianapolis Coin Club
Officers and Board MembersPresident
Mark Eberhardt
Vice-President
Jim Roehrdanz
Secretary
Vinton Dove
Treasurer
Karl Kreck
EditorMark Eberhardt(fubacoin@aol.com) ph. (317) 837-5682
Past President
Sgt-at-Arms
Board Member 2007-2008
Board Member 2007-2008
Board Member 2007-2008
Board Member 2006-2007
Board Member 2006-2007
Board Member 2006-2007

Vinton Dove
Jim Warden
Dave Reid
Bob Bettcher
James HeldJim Fuson
Charles AlberOpen

The Monthly Planchet is the official publication of theIndianapolis Coin Club. It is published monthly in Indianapolis,Indiana. All inquiries should be sent to ICC, P.O. Box 2897,
Indianapolis, Indiana, 46206.

Table of Contents
Check your Change-

CoverAdvertisers-

Page 2Franklin Half Dollar -Page 3

Secretary’s Report -Page 4

Area Coin Shows-

Page 4

Treasurer’s Report -Page 5

Ed. Prog. For March -Page 5Classified Ads

Page 5The Monthly Planchet, April 2007

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FRANKLIN HALF DOLLARS 1948 – 1963byMichael Schmidt

In 1941 the Walking Liberty half dollar reached the 25 years point in its production and under the Act of Sept
26th 1890 became eligible for the replacement of the design. The Secretary of the Treasury could now make thischange without having to consult with Congress, and in the past such a change had been something of an automaticdecision. But even though the country was not yet at war, the government was involved with enough problems inEurope supporting our allies that the additional headache of changing designs was not something the mint needed atthat time. (The Mint was involved with production of coinage not only for ourselves, but
to an ever growing extent, coinage of other nations that were either short of critical materials and labor, or their industrial capabilities were redirected towards war production.)
In 1947 though, the war was over our positions in Germany and Japan had been
consolidated and many of the allies were beginning to take over their own interests. The
time had come to “correct” that little delay in redesigning the half dollar. Thus would end
the last of the classic designs introduced in 1916. (The quarter had had it’s life cut shortearly but Congressional action to mark the Bicentennial of George Washington’s birth,and the dime had fallen to the passing of the immensely popular president Franklin Roosevelt.)
Interestingly, I can find no information of why Benjamin Franklin was chosen as
the subject for the new half dollar. It appears to have come from down “from on high” and no other subjects wereeven considered. Chief Engraver John Sinnock was given the order to create the new design and he finished it just afew weeks before his death in May 1947. The Mint apparently worked on developing the designs for awhile andprobably had no intention of making any changes to it because they did not bother submitting the design to the Fine
Arts Commission until Nov 17th. The obverse die showed shoulder length bust of Benjamin Franklin facing right
LIBERTY is above the head and IN GOD WE TRUST is below the bust. The date is in the right field below Franklin’s chin. On the reverse the coin is dominated by the Liberty Bell. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is at the top ofthe coin and the denomination is along the bottom. The motto E Pluribus Unum is found in three lines to the left of thebell an it is balanced on the right by a small eagle which fulfills the law that requires an eagle appear on all coins witha denomination greater than ten cents.
The Commission was not happy with the coin though. They had two major complaints. They did not like the small eagle. I’m not sure if they wanted to eliminate it ormake it larger. They also had a problem with the Bell. They seemed to think that the bell
itself was fine, but could the Mint get rid of the crack?!! I think the Commission wascracked! The Liberty Bell is a memorable symbol of out early history and the crack in thebell was a well known story from that history. If you get rid of the crack then you justhave a non-decrepit bell with no recognizable connection to our history or Franklin.
Fortunately after five months work and coming up on the start of the year, theSecretary of the Treasury also realized the Commission had no sense of history and proceeded with the design unchanged and the Franklin half dollar was introduced in Januaryof 1948.
The coin seems to have been well received with few adverse comments. Learning from the conspiracy rumors that resulted from the John Sinnock’s initials on the dime, the truncation of the bust of Franklin bears the initials JRS.
According to Walter Breen , Chief Engraver Sinnock indulged in some plagiarism for the reverse design
claiming that he copied it from the Sesquicentennial half dollar by John Fredrick Lewis. While there is some resemblance, that is to be expected. Both depict the Liberty Bell, but the inscriptions are different. And since they both show
the same object I’m not sure how you would show it in a large size and NOT have the two coins look similar. (I guess
you could leave the crack off. :o) )There was only one change made to the design during its run. In 1956 the eagle on the back was changedslightly to increase its relief and there were a couple of small changes in its design, the most noticeable being thechange from four feathers in the eagle’s right wing to three. (Viewers left, count the feather tips to the left of the eagle’s perch.) In reality this wasn’t so much a change as the introduction of a second hub. The new high relief eagle
hub was only intended to be used for the proof coinages, but by 1958 it was also(Continued on Page 5)
The Monthly Planchet, April 2007

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March 26, 2007 Minutes of the ICC Meeting
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by President Mark Eberhardt. There were novisitors to introduce.
The Secretary’s report and the Treasurer’s report were read and accepted.
Old Business – Mark announced that the Editor’s position and one Board member’sposition were still unfilled. There were no volunteers. Mark also announced that the Club must leave the library building by 8:50 PM, so he would be moving the progress of themeetings as quickly as possible.
Committee Reports- Fund Raising – Dave Reid reported that the Club had already received several donations. He suggested that those individuals who were purchasing 6 50/50 tickets for $5.00 donate one of them to the Club.
That way, if the Club won the drawing, both “50’s” would go to the club.
- ISNA Show – Jim Fuson reported that there were still several openings on the Saturday (November 3,2007) roster for manning the ICC table.
- Exhibitors Night – (July meeting) Vinton announced that the committee had decided that the Judges
would be the Club members in attendance that night. The winners would be chosen by “Peoples Choice.”
New Business- Mark reported that the correct dates for National Coin Week would be April 15 to April 21. He alsoannounced that the Coin Week committee had assembled bags of old coins for distribution during Coin Week.
He urged Club members to buy the bags ($5.00 for a bag containing $5.00 face value of old coins and currency) and spend the contents during Coin Week. Many members had purchased bags prior to the meeting,but many more bags were left. Don King would be selling the remaining bags during the break at the front ofthe room. Mark said the Club was over the budget on this activity, but that the extra money could be made up
in other areas.
- There will be programs for the Juniors, and they are tentatively planned for the 2nd Sunday of eachmonth, starting in September. The programs will be given at 1:00 PM at the Knights of Columbus Hall on 71stStreet, west of Keystone Avenue. The club now needs volunteers to conduct the programs. At this time, six
programs are planned per year.
- Secretary, Vinton Dove, then read announcements about upcoming coin shows in the near future.
After the break, Board Member Bob Bettcher presented the Educational program. His topic was Flying Eagle
and Indian Head Cents. His presentation was excellent, and he bought his collection to demonstrate what thecoins looked like.
President Eberhardt ran an exciting auction, and most of the lots were sold. The auction also
included several lots donated by members.
The club adjourned at 8:30 PM.
Vinton Dove, Secretary

Area Coin Shows:April 22nd - “Madison County Coin Show” - Anderson, IN UAW Local 663 Union Hall 2840 Madison Ave. Hours: 9am - 4pm
May 6th - “71st Street Coin Show” Indianapolis, IN K of C Hall 2100 East 71st Street off Keystone Ave. Hours: 9am - 3:45pm
May 19th - “4th Annual Jasper Area Coin Club’s Coin Show” Jasper, IN Dubois County Museum 2704 N. Newton St. (Hwy.
US 231 N.) Across from the Moose Lodge & next to Holiday Liquors. Hours: 9am - 4pm
May 20th - “Lafayette Numismatic Society” - Lafayette, IN Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds 1401 Teal Road. Hours: 9am– 4pm
The Monthly Planchet, April 2007

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Indianapolis Coin ClubClassified Section:

Treasurer's Report March 2007
Income:Received from 50/50
Three line add newsletter
Sale of Coin Week Coin Packets
Items donated to Auction
Additional Auction Lot
10 Membership Renewals$ 44.00$ 1.00$ 250.00$ 56.00$ 8.00$ 120.00

Total$ 479.00

Expenses:
Mark Eberhardt Check # 1421
Newsletter Postage
Newsletter Printing
Cost for Coin Week Program
U.S.P.S. P.O. Box Rental$ 15.60$ 11.08$ 596.46$ 46.00

Total$ 669.14

Feb. Checkbook Balance $ 2,644.27
March Checkbook Balance $ 2,454.13
I.C.C. CD Balance $ 17,984.54
Respectfully Submitted,
Karl Kreck

April’s Program“The Lore of Carson City”
By…..
Jim Warden

Wanted - Wooden Nickels,
elongated coins, & Mardi
Gras Tokens. Call Charles:
317-856-4553

Place your ad here for only$1 a month. All ads mustbe submitted by the 10th ofeach month to the editor.

(Continued from page 3, Franklins) beginning to show
up on the business strikes as well. But since they’ve
only shown up, so far, on Philadelphia coins there is afairly good possibility that they are from the reuse of retired proof dies to make business strike coins. The only
case where we can say for sure that the proof hub wasused to make a business strike die was on one die in
1959 where the die was impressed by both hub designs.
Although none of the mintages for the Franklinhalves are excessively high, none of them are overly loweither. The lowest mintages come from the Philadelphia
mint in 1953 and 1955. Although only about two and ahalf million coins were minted each year rolls were
widely hoarded and they are readily available. The
1949-S in top grade can be pricey but the entire set canbe assembled in uncirculated and is within the reach ofmost collectors who want one.

Club Looking for a New Home
The club was informed by the staff of
the Nora Library that they were notaware that we were conducting an auction during our meeting. They have astrict rule that states, “that they must
charge $53.00 per month for the room ifmoney is exchanged during a meeting”.
Because we think the Dealers and theauctions are a crucial part of our meeting
we will have to find a new location. So if
anyone belongs to a church or organization that would allow us to use a room on
the fourth Monday of every month, pleasecontact Mark at: fubacoin@aol.com orcall 317-837-5682. Untill then we willcontinue to meet at the Nora Library andpay the fee.

The Monthly Planchet, April 2007

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