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History of the Walking Liberty Half Dollar
The year 1916 marked a radical change in our US coins. The Liberty Nickel had
been replaced a few years before and now the dime, quarter and half dollar would
be changed marking and end to the “Barber era”.
Of
all the coins produced throughout the history of the US, many will say the
Walking Liberty Half, or “Walkers” as they are commonly called, is perhaps the
most majestic of all US coins. Who can argue when looking at a fully struck
Walking Liberty Half in GEM mint condition? It is simply exquisite. Even
though the Walking Liberty half ended its run in 1947, the beauty of the obverse
can still be had today in the form of a one-ounce Silver Eagle silver bullion
coin. How many designs are ever repeated on a coin after nearly a 50 year
hiatus? So, how did this design come about?
In
1915, US Mint Director Robert W. Woolley offered the opportunity to three noted
sculptors, Adolph A Weinman, Albin Polasek and Herman A. MacNeil to prepare
designs for three silver coins. Outside artists, not chief engraver Charles
Barber, supplied designs for the previous six changes and Woolley felt this was
a great option. By 1916, Barber was 75 years old but had a track record of
being hostile to outside artists designing coins he thought he should be
designing. With three new designs, all replacing coins Barber had designed, it
could have gotten unpleasant. The records suggest Barber was on his best
behavior. Maybe he finally just gave up or was too old to fight anymore or just
recognized the beauty in the designs. Barber died in February 1917 and was
replaced by George T. Morgan, who had designed the Morgan Dollar.
It
is assumed that Woolley intended to award a different coin to each person. It
may not have been planned this way, but Weinman ended up getting two of his
designs as the winning designs. One being what would become known as the
Walking Liberty Half and the Mercury Dime. MacNeil won the design for the
quarter with Polasek getting shut out.
Adolph A. Weinman was born in Germany and came to the US at the age of 10 in
1880. He was a student of well known sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens.
Saint-Gaudens is also credited with some truly outstanding coin designs. By
1915 when the design process began, Weinman was widely celebrated as one of the
nation’s best sculptors. His work can be seen on the state capital buildings in
Louisiana, Missouri and Wisconsin.
For the obverse of his design, Weinman chose a full-length figure of Liberty.
In Barbers report he had described the half dollar as “a full length Liberty,
the fold of the stars and stripes flying to the breeze as a background,
progressing in full stride toward the dawn of a new day, carrying branches of
laurel and oak symbolical of civil and military glory. The hand of the figure is
outstretched in bestowal of the spirit of liberty. The reverse of the half
dollar shows an eagle perched high upon a mountain crag, his wings unfolded,
fearless in spirit and conscious of his power. Springing from a rift in the rock
is a sapling of mountain pine, symbolical of America."
These strongly patriotic themes resonated perfectly across a nation then
preparing (knowingly or not) to enter World War I, ironically against the land
of Weinman's birth. Weinman placed his initials (AW) directly under the eagle's
tail feathers.
Even though the Barber half was not produced in 1916, the new design of the
Walking Liberty Half was not released until late 1916 with mintages of 608,000
at Philadelphia, 1,014,400 at Denver and 508,000 at San Francisco. It drew
immediate praise from major metropolitan newspapers in New York, Boston, etc.
While these mintages seem low today, it was not all that different from mintage
figures for the last few years of the Barber Half. Also, back in 1916, a half
dollar was a large amount of money as it could buy nearly a whole basket of
groceries.
The
Walking Liberty half would be replaced in 1948 by the Franklin Half ending a run
of nearly two centuries of US coins with symbolic figures to coins with actual
historic individuals although Franklin was the first non-president to appear on
a coin.
Collectibility
General
Walking Liberty Halves, “Walkers” as they are frequently called, are heavily
collected due to their beauty. They hold great appeal for traditional
collectors as well as non collectors. Over 485 million of these coins were
produced between 1916 and 1947 with many that still exist in MS65 condition or
better. A full set of 65 different date-and-mint combinations can be bought for
around $1000 in average circulated condition (AG-VG for earlier years and F to
XF for later years) making this series achievable for many collectors. As
always, coins in higher grades and mint state condition will command huge
premiums.
You can also start with what is called the short set with are coins dated from
1941 to 1947 which is 20 coins. Acquiring these in better grades can be very
rewarding.
One thing to look for in high grades is weakness of strike. Most dates are
weakly struck, particularly on Liberty's left hand and leg, head and skirt lines
and on the eagle's breast and leg feathers. As you would guess, sharply struck
coins typically demand substantial premiums. An effort to improve this issue was
attempted by Chief Engraver George T. Morgan in 1918 and again by Assistant
Engraver John R. Sinnock in 1937 and 1938. None of the revisions seemed to help
though as later issues were still weak in the central parts of the design.
Places to check for wear and weakness include Liberty's head, breast, arms and
left leg and the breast, leg and forward wing of the eagle.
Key/Semi
Key Dates
Although over 485 million Walkers were produced, they were issued sporadically
during the 1920’s and early 1930’s which is generally where many of the key
dates are. A couple dates/mints in the teens can also be challenging. Coins
dated 1916 can run around $50 for a 1916P or D in VG-8 condition and over $130
for a 1916-S. When first issued, the mint mark appeared in the obverse of the
coin. This changed during production in 1917 resulting in two types for that
year. Halves with the mint mark on the obverse command a premium over coins
with the mintmark on the reverse as coins with obverse mint marks had a lower
mintage. Still, each type is generally very available at reasonable prices.
The coins of 1919 has similar mintages of other dates but is priced much
higher. The 1919-D in MS65 lists for $130,000 making it the most costly of MS65
type coins.
The rarest of Walkers are coins dated 1921 from Philadelphia and Denver with
mintages of 246,000 and 208,000 respectively. An example of each of these will
cost you several hundred dollars each for even a G4. The 1921-S had a higher
mintage of 548,000. Though not has pricey in lower grades as the other 1921
examples, finding this coin in MS gem condition is extremely tough with the
1921-S in MS65 retailing for $105,000 in the March 2006 issue of Coins
Magazine. The reason for the low mintage can be partially attributed to the
fact that the 3 mints were busy making Morgan Dollars to satisfy the Pitman
Act. Total production for Mercury Dimes and Standing Liberty Quarters also
suffered in that year. Demand for coins though was beginning to wane as evident
in mintage numbers for subsequent years.
For the remainder of the 1920’s and 1930’s, production never fell below 1
million except for the 1938-D. This date is considered a key. Total mintage
was 491,600 making it the third lowest coin in terms of production. A G4 coin
could cost you around $100 while a MS65 lists at $1,550 well below the 1919-D
even though the 1919-D had a mintage of triple of the 1938-D. Simply put, there
are far less 1919-D’s in MS65 condition. PCGS has graded only 10 of these coins
while 669 1938-D’s in MS65 have been graded.
During the 1940’s production boomed. Prior to 1940, production exceeded 10
million only three times. From 1940 through the end of the Walker run,
production exceeded 10 million 12 times making supplies of 1940’s dated Walkers
readily abundant. The only exception being 1946-D, 1946-S, 1947 and 1947-D
where production ranged from 2-4 million.
Errors
The Walking Liberty series has only one significant error, the 1946-P double die
reverse. It is the only one listed by PCGS. There are some less notable
varieties/errors that have been reported such as 1928-S large and small mint
marks, 1942 D over S and a 1943/2 overdate. Also, proof coins in 1941 were
struck without the designers initials.
Proofs
Only about 74,000 Walking Liberty ˝-dollar proof coins were minted, all from
1936 to 1942, and a few matte-finish proofs in 1916 and 1917, as documented by
Walter Brien, but this is disputed. Well-struck coins have higher values as many
Walkers display weak striking. Some minor revisions were made to improve the
striking and design but were not dramatically successful. Later issues of
Walkers also have striking problems. For grading purposes, typical areas of wear
should be looked for around the eagle's leading leg and wing, and Liberty's left
hand and leg, head and skirt lines.
Vital
Statistics Summary
Key Coin
Info
Designed by: Adolph A. Weinman
Issue dates: 1916-1947
Composition: 0.900 part silver, 0.100 part copper
Diameter: 30.6 mm
Weight: 192.9 grains
Edge: Reeded
Business strike mintage: 485,320,340
Proof mintage: 74,400
Mintage
Date
Mint Pop
1916
P 608,000
1916
D 1,014,400
1916
S 508,000
1917 D
OBV 765,400
1917 S
OBV 952,000
1917
P 12,292,000
1917 D
Rev 1,940,000
1917 S
Rev 5,554,000
1918
P 6,634,000
1918
D 3,853,040
1918
S 10,282,000
1919
P 962,000
1919
D 1,165,000
1919
S 1,552,000
1920
P 6,372,000
1920
D 1,551,000
1920
S 4,624,000
1921
P 246,000
1921
D 208,000
1921
S 548,000
1923
S 2,178,000
1927
S 2,392,000
1928
S 1,940,000
1929
D 1,001,200
1929
S 1,902,000
1933
S 1,786,000
1934
P 6,964,000
1934
D 2,361,400
1934
S 3,652,000
1935
P 9,162,000
1935
D 3,003,800
1935
S 3,854,000
1936
P 12,617,901
1936
D 4,252,400
1936
S 3,884,000
1937
P 9,527,728
1937
D 1,676,000
1937
S 2,090,000
1938
P 4,118,152
1938
D 491,600
1939
P 6,820,808
1939
D 4,267,800
1939
S 2,552,000
1940
P 9,167,279
1940
S 4,550,000
1941
P 24,207,412
1941
D 11,248,400
1941
S 8,098,000
1942
P 47,839,120
1942
D 10,973,800
1942
S 12,708,000
1943
P 53,190,000
1943
D 11,346,000
1943
S 13,450,000
1944
P 28,206,000
1944
D 9,769,000
1944
S 8,904,000
1945
P 31,502,000
1945
D 9,966,800
1945
S 10,156,000
1946
P 12,118,000
1946
D 2,151,000
1946
S 3,724,000
1947
P 4,094,000
1947
D 3,900,600
Keith Scott has been a collector for over 30 years. His website has
US coins for sale. He also writes
Coin Collecting Articles for fun. Visit his websites for a history of US coins,
metal market updates and news about your favorite coins.
Want to discuss the Walking Liberty Half? Join the coin forum.
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