Walking Liberty
Half-Dollar

When I was growing up in the 1950's, having one or more Walking Liberty half-dollars in my pocket was a good feeling. Not only were they beautiful silver coins, they had purchasing power. Today, these are still beautiful coins and you might be surprised at their "value" based on their silver content. Read on...

Walking Liberty Half-Dollars - A Brief History

The Walking Liberty half-dollar is one of the few U. S. coins to have its popular design appear on another (modern) U.S. coin. Designed by Adolph A. Weinman, you can find this same design on the Silver American Eagle.

A total of three U. S. Mints were involved in the production of Walking Libertys from 1916 thru 1947: Denver; Philadelphia; San Francisco. Approximately 485,395,000 Liberty half-dollars were minted during these years. As with any silver (and gold) coins, some are more valuable than others due in part to low mintage/scarcity (as well as condition and demand). Here are the...

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*- 765,400; 1917S*- 952,000;
1919 - 962,000; 1929D - 1,001,200.

* These coins have the mint mark on the obverse (front) of the coin below the motto "In God We Trust".

** Circulated coins in even fair condition may fetch a premium price over spot silver due to the low mintage (and therefore rarity) of these coins-especially the 1921, 1921D and 1916S.

Walking Liberty Half-Dollars - More Details

The Walking Liberty half-dollar features an image of Walking Lady Liberty on the obverse side and a majestic eagle on the reverse. Walking Liberty Mint Location

Except for some limited 1916 and 1917 coins in which the mint mark appeared on the obverse side, the mint mark appears on the reverse near 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 are 90% silver and 10% copper. Uncirculated Walking Libertys contain .3617 Troy ounces of pure silver (11.2501 grams) with a gross weight of .401 Troy ounces (12.50 grams). Circulated Walking Libertys are considered to contain .3575 Troy ounces of pure silver (11.1195 grams) due to the "wear factor" in handling these coins. Circulated silver coins are sometimes referred to as "junk silver" but don't believe it.

If you are looking for the least expensive way of owning Walking Liberty half-dollars and still get good coins (like those in the 10 Lowest Minted list above), stay with the circulated grades of Extremely Fine (EF or XF) or About Uncirculated (AU). More expensive uncirculated coins begin at Mint State 60 (MS60) and go to MS65s (on occasion MS66s). If you invest in MS63 or higher grades of coins, you will want them graded and sealed in plastic slabs ("slabbed") by either Numismatic Guarantee Corporation (NGC) or Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS).

Deal only with reputable dealers (the subject of a future article). And be sure to shop around - don't buy from the first dealer you find that sells Walking Libertys. 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 the current spot price of silver times .3575.

Example: $15.00 x .3575 = $5.3625

Walking Liberty Half-Dollars on eBay

You can learn much about investing in silver Walking Libertys from current eBay auctions. Review these auctions to see which silver Libertys sell better than others and current bid prices for various grades of coins. Especially valuable are the Walking Liberty half-dollar auctions that are closest to expiring - both those with multiple bids and those with no bids. They can give you a good idea of the going rate for these silver coins in today's market - and which are priced too high.

If you only want to invest in one or a few coins at a time, eBay auctions might be just the ticket for you (many dealers are not interested in small sales). It's free to set up an account - just click on any auction below, look for "register" in the upper left-hand corner (by the eBay logo) and click it to get started.

For your convenience, I have included a number of silver Walking Liberty auctions closest to expiration below. Stop back often to check on the latest auctions, you might be able to pick up some nice Walking Libertys at a decent price.

If you see an auction you want to bid on, you will want to check on the seller's eBay "reputation" before you bid. On the auction page, look for "Meet the seller" on the right-hand side (toward the top). There you will see the seller ID followed by a number in parenthesis. The higher that transaction number + high positive feedback (95% or better), the "safer" your bid will be.

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.

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