When the Corniche, the world's most luxurious motor car, came of age at 21, Rolls-Royce celebrated the occasion with a Special Anniversary Edition limited to only 25
Legendary for its bold and distinctive styling, the Cord 812 features technical innovations such as front wheel drive, retractable headlamps and of course, the supercharged V-8 engine. When Franklin Mint Precision Models first released this model, none other than Gordon Buehrig himself (the original designer) approved the
A bold statement of luxury and grand touring, this custom-bodied Duesenberg was the hit of the Paris Salon when it first appeared in 1932. Often the car of choice among the Hollywood elite, Duesenbergs represented the finest in American cars. Trimmed with high-contrasting ivory interior against royal metallic luster red paint, this stunning
Before the transcontinental railroad and the automobile, there was the overland stagecoach. Rattling through bad lands wrought with danger, it connected the
He could afford the best. And that's what he drove. The most infamous criminal of all, Al Capone drove a luxurious and powerful 1930 Cadillac® V-16 Imperial Sedan.
Own a classic from the Golden Age of Automobiles. Wow, What a Duesy!
The most luxurious Duesenberg ever, the world knew it as the 20 Grand. For in 1933, it had the bold price tag of $20,000—far beyond the reach of the millions who first saw it at the Chicago World’s Fair. Today, its value would be in the millions. Now, the most
Honor the military motorcycle that roared through war-torn Europe. Harley-Davidson® joined the war effort and rolled over Europe with the powerful WLA motorcycle. Fast and durable, this solid motorcycle carried Allied soldiers on countless campaigns. Now, the legend returns in a precision-engineered model so
The legendary "Black Eagle" $1 Silver Certificate is a true classic of American paper money history and was first issued in 1899. The central image features a powerful Bald Eagle and smaller portrait images of presidents Lincoln and Grant. The large blue seal denotes these as Silver Certificates which could have been redeemed at the
The Franklin Mint is a private corporation based in Exton, Pennsylvania which markets collectibles of its own designs. It was founded by Joseph Sigel.
The company started by marketing privately-minted gold and silver commemorative rounds and medallions, but quickly branched out into other collectibles. In the 1960s the price of silver rose, causing all silver coins to be removed from circulation. The Nevada casinos used silver dollars in their slot machines, which were soon worth more than a dollar. The Franklin Mint was one of the earliest and largest minters of replacement slot machine tokens.
It minted in its own production facility numerous sets of coins-of-the-realm, theme-based medals and ingots, selling them on the subscription plan, with buyers getting a monthly shipment and invoice. Franklin Mint struck issues in all the different precious and semi-precious metals. American history and art masterpiece themes were predominant, with space and important persons and other topics also quite popular. Sets were often limited by the number of subscribers by a cut-off date, or a fixed mintage, resulting in "limited editions". Prices were fairly reasonable, compared to the cost of silver, and often tens of thousands of sets were sold. Custom wood cases, fancy packaging and certificates appealed to collectors, and the market boomed. However, silver prices climbed, making the cost of larger items high, and replacement bronze and pewter issues did not appeal to collectors as much.
From 1973 to 2000, the Franklin Mint had a division called the Franklin Library, which produced hundreds of editions of classic works of literature in fine bindings.
In 1983, and to much success, The Franklin Mint entered the die-cast car market with the 1935 Mercedes Benz 500K Roadster. In the following years, Franklin Mint produced numerous designs including the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, one of Franklin Mint's better-selling models. Collector knives, figurines, plates, Monopoly sets, chess sets and board games, plaques, coins, medals, and other collectibles have been issued over the years by The Franklin Mint.
The Franklin Mint was heavily reliant upon direct mail and media print ads for sales. Advertisements for Franklin Mint collectibles—including the Civil War Commemorative Chess Set among thousands of other items—were once ubiquitous in popular magazines.
Currently The Franklin Mint has divested itself of minting capacity, and has downsized, and is now mostly a producer/marketer of die cast models. On October 17, 2006 The Franklin Mint announced it was sold by Roll International Corp to a number of private investors including M. Moshe Malamud and Steven Susskind, chairman and chief executive respectively from The Morgan Mint, and David Saltzman, a Hollywood producer. The sale closed on August 31, 2006 and no price was announced. The new ownership plans to return Franklin Mint to its former market-leading status and offer the full lineup of collectibles including coins and metallic's.
Many of the Franklin Mint's most recent Resnick era products were pop-culture icon themed, for example porcelain plates featuring images of John Wayne among many others.
