Where to begin, haha.
The
Franklin half dollar is my favorite coin. I do not know why, it just grabbed me the first time I ever saw it while flipping through a
RedBook. Dont get me wrong, I love all
US coins, but the Franklin made me stop and I just stared at it for a minute. Its just the one that stood out and I have collected them ever since.
I started off with an album and have since completed it. I am now working on upgrading it, and using the duplicates to fill a second album.
Right now, my primary collecting focus is a PCGS registry set of Cameo Proofs. What a blast! They are amazing to look at and fun to search for. Like Basebal21 said, 1950 through 1952 are the killers. 1959 is by far the most difficult of the remaining dates, with a few sleepers in Deep Cameo, such as the 1961. There also some cool varieties like the 1961
DDR (oih82w8 mentioned) and the type 1 1956.
If the OP is interested I can post a link to my proof Franklin thread and registry set. Both need some serious updating!
Franklins are a great set that is easily completed with no major keys, but for the serious collector, there are certainly some very challenging dates in high grades and Full Bell Lines. In my opinion, the cameo proofs are one of the most underrated series in the hobby.