Elvis Presley Gold "Frankie and Johnny" US Half Dollar Commemorative Coin

Elvis Presley is rightly called the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.  He is credited with 54 certified gold singles – more than any other recording artist ever!  This coin highlights one of those songs that sold at least 500,000 copies. 

Mystic has permanently bonded a vibrant image of Elvis to this uncirculated US Half Dollar.  The coin features an original photo...  more

Elvis Presley is rightly called the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.  He is credited with 54 certified gold singles – more than any other recording artist ever!  This coin highlights one of those songs that sold at least 500,000 copies. 

Mystic has permanently bonded a vibrant image of Elvis to this uncirculated US Half Dollar.  The coin features an original photograph of Presley from his estate’s official archives and is officially licensed by Elvis Presley Enterprises.

Frankie and Johnnie

This coin honors the title song from the 1966 film Frankie and Johnny.  In the movie, Elvis played the part of Johnny, a performer on a riverboat, who is also a compulsive gambler. A gypsy fortune teller predicts Johnny will meet a redheaded woman who will bring him luck.

When he returns to the boat, he encounters Nellie Bly who happens to have red hair. She touches his poker chips for good luck, and he wins. Johnny’s girlfriend, Frankie, is jealous of Nellie. Frankie shoots Johnny, but he is unhurt because the bullet struck a medallion she had given him. In the end, Frankie forgives Johnny for spending time with Nellie and for gambling.

The song that inspired the film was written by Hughie Cannon. His inspiration for “Frankie and Johnny” is a subject of debate. Several folk songs tell of a woman, Frankie, who finds that her man Albert (or Johnnie) is having an affair with a woman named Ellie Fly (or Nellie Bligh or Alice Pryor). Others believe Cannon based his tune on the story of Frankie Baker, a 22-year-old woman who shot her boyfriend Allen Britt in St. Louis, Missouri. The common thread in all the versions is that Frankie kills Johnny.