Walking Liberty Half-Dollars – A Brief History

The Walking Lady Liberty silver half-dollar was designed by Adolph A. Weinman and had a mint life from 1916 until 1947. A total of three U. S. Mints were involved in the production of Walking Liberties: Denver; Philadelphia; and San Francisco. Some interesting mintage facts (in case you are considering buying/selling these beautiful silver coins)…

10 Highest Minted Walking Liberty Half-Dollars*

1943 – 53,190,000; 1942 – 47,839,120; 1945 – 31,502,000;

1944 – 28,206,000; 1941 – 24,207,412; 1943S – 13,450,000;

1942S – 12,708,000; 1936 – 12,617, 901; 1917 – 12,292,000;

1946 – 12,118,000.

* Circulated coins with medium to heavy wear are worth their silver bullion content only. Uncirculated coins or circulated coins in good to very good condition may be worth more than for just their silver content. Check with a reputable coin dealer before you sell.

10 Lowest Minted Walking Liberty Half-Dollars**

1921D – 208,000; 1921 – 246,000; 1938D – 491,600; 1916S – 508,000;

1921S – 548,000; 1916 – 608,000; 1917D (obverse mint mark) – 765,400;

1917S (obverse mint mark) – 952,000; 1919 – 962,000; 1929D – 1,001,200.

** Circulated coins in even fair condition may fetch a premium price due to the low mintage (and therefore rarity) of these coins-especially the 1921, 1921D and 1916S. Check with a reputable coin dealer before you sell these coins.

Walking Liberty Half-Dollars – Additional Info

The Walking Liberty half-dollar has the image of Walking Lady Liberty on the obverse side and a majestic eagle on the reverse. Some limited 1916 and 1917 coins have the mint mark on the obverse all others have the mint mark on the reverse near the the “Half”. Mint marks are “D” for Denver and “S” for the San Francisco Mints. If no mint mark appears, it was minted in Philadelphia.

Walking Liberty half-dollars consist of 90% silver and 10% copper. Uncirculated Walking Liberties contain .3617 Troy ounces of pure silver (11.2501 grams) with a gross weight of .401 Troy ounces (12.50 grams). Circulated Walking Liberties contain .3575 Troy ounces of pure silver (11.1195 grams) – less than uncirculated coins due to the “wear factor” in handling these coins. Circulated silver coins are sometimes referred to as “junk silver” but there is nothing “junk” about them.

If you want inexpensive Walking Liberty half-dollars and still get decent coins, look for the circulated grades of Extremely Fine (EF or XF) or About Uncirculated (AU). For “better” coins, shop for uncirculated coins beginning with Mint State 60 (MS60). If you decide to invest in MS63 and higher grades, you will want them graded and “slabbed” by either NGC or PCGS.

Don’t buy from the first dealer you find that sells Walking Liberties. Shop around. Prices can vary widely and you will want to compare prices from several dealers to get the maximum amount of silver for your money.

To determine the silver (melt) value of a circulated Walking Liberty, multiply .3575 times the current spot price of silver.

Example: .3575 x $11.00 = $3.93

Disclaimer: I have made every reasonable effort to produce an informative and helpful article on Walking Liberty Half-Dollars based on my research and experiences. However, I make no representation or warranties of any kind with regard to its completeness, accuracy or suitability for any specific situation or purpose. See Terms and Conditions for more info.

Copyright © 2008 Silver Investing Simplified – Walking Liberty Half-Dollars

John Ausiman was a salesman of gold and silver for one of the oldest, most reputable precious metals dealers in the U.S. He no longer is actively selling precious metals but wants to share his expertise with would-be gold and silver investors. You will find a number of useful articles (with images) on silver at his web site http://www.silverinvestingsimplified.com

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