Franklin Half Dollar

1948–1963

Designed under Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross, the Franklin half dollar was the first US coin to honor someone who never served as president -- Benjamin Franklin, chosen for his broad popularity and Founding Father status. Its reverse shows the Liberty Bell, with a small eagle added beside it only because federal law required an eagle on half-dollar-and-larger coinage. It was replaced by the Kennedy half dollar in 1964, struck as a hasty tribute after President Kennedy's assassination.