I'm not the expert but the easiest way to tell the differences between a typeI and typeII are to look at the eagle on the back. Look on the reverse of a Franklin, at the eagle. Now look at the bottom of the eagle, and see the branch he is perched on? You will see several feathers to the left of the perch - these feathers are the key to distinguishing the Type I and II. Type I eagles have four somewhat indistinct feathers to the left of the perch; Type II eagles have three distinct, strong feathers to the left of the perch. The type II was adopted in 1956 for the proof coins and 1956 proofs can be either, 55 and earlier will be type I and 57 and later will be type II. That is for the proof coins. All circulation strikes should be type I however, on the circulation strikes for the Philidelphia mint there are known examples of type II on the 58s and 59s, speculation is any Philidelphia circulation strike from 56 on could have the type II reverse as all the proof coins back then were minted in Philidelphia. There is also a DDR for the 59 type II circulation strike. My understanding is there is not much difference in price between the two reverses as they are not well known and do not have a large following. Hopefully the experts will back this up.
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