The Franklin Mint

Lore & Background

The Franklin Mint began by manufacturing and marketing privately minted gold and silver commemorative rounds and medallions. In 1973, it founded The Franklin Library, which produced public domain classic books until its closing in 2000; these books were designed and bound by The Sloves Organization, Ltd. The library published series including The Great Books of the Western World and The Hundred Greatest Books of All Time.

After Warner Communications purchased the company in 1983, Franklin Mint entered the diecast vehicle market with a 1935 Mercedes Benz 500K Roadster, usually labeled as Franklin Mint Precision Models. Over subsequent years, it produced more than 600 different issues of automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, and tractors. In 1998, it began producing models of the Duesenberg Coupé Simone, a fictitious luxury car allegedly made by Duesenberg in the late 1930s. The mint also manufactured diecast aircraft, notably a large number of World War II 1:48 scale planes including the B-17 Flying Fortress, PBY Catalina, P-51 Mustang, and Focke-Wulf Fw 190.

Following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund was granted intellectual property rights over her image. In 1998, after the Franklin Mint refused an official license to produce Diana merchandise, the Memorial Fund sued the company for illegally selling Diana dolls, plates, and jewelry. The case was tried in California, where a suit to preserve the right of publicity may be filed on behalf of a dead person only if that person is a Californian. The Memorial Fund filed on behalf of the estate and lost; the Franklin Mint countersued in 2003. The case was settled out of court in November 2004, with the Memorial Fund agreeing to pay £13.5 million to charitable causes agreed upon by both sides. The Memorial Fund also spent close to £4 million in costs and fees related to the litigation, which froze grants allocated to a number of charities.

Reader's Guide

The Franklin Mint's significance lies in its pioneering role in mass-marketing collectibles to a broad audience over five decades, transforming private minting and collectible manufacturing into a large-scale commercial enterprise. Its entry into diecast vehicles in 1983, following the Warner Communications acquisition, established it as a major producer of precision models, with over 600 issues spanning cars, motorcycles, trucks, tractors, and aircraft. The Franklin Library, operating from 1973 to 2000, further extended its reach into book publishing, producing classic works in bound editions. The legal dispute with the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund highlights the complexities of intellectual property and publicity rights in the collectibles industry, particularly regarding the use of a deceased person's image. The settlement, which required the Memorial Fund to pay £13.5 million to charitable causes and incur nearly £4 million in legal costs, had tangible consequences for other charities whose grants were frozen. The Franklin Mint's legacy is thus one of commercial innovation in collectibles, coupled with a notable legal precedent in the realm of personality rights.

Did You Know?

• It produced more than 600 different diecast vehicle issues, including the fictitious Duesenberg Coupé Simone.
• The Franklin Library published classic book series such as The Great Books of the Western World from 1973 to 2000.
• A lawsuit over Diana merchandise resulted in the Memorial Fund paying £13.5 million to charitable causes in a 2004 settlement.