Walking Liberty Half Dollar - Production and Collecting

Production and Collecting

is of unusual boldness and is brought so near the periphery of the coin that it is certain to draw the metal from the edge into the body of the design, notably the head of the figure and the ground upon which the figure stands, so long as these conditions remain the result will be as now found; I may add that the uneven thickness occurs in the five cent and the new dime and from the same cause, the only remedy would be a change of design with lower relief and brought so well within the circle of the coin that it did not affect the edge or thickness of the coin.

“ ” Charles E. Barber, Engraver to the United States Mint in Philadelphia, in a letter to Philadelphia Mint Superintendent Adam Joyce, December 9, 1916.

The mint marks had initially been placed on the obverse, the first time that had been done for a regular issue US half dollar since 1839. On February 14, 1917, von Engelken ordered that the mint mark be moved from the obverse to the reverse, stating that the obverse placement had the appearance of a die defect. At that time, Von Engelken had resigned pending appointment to the post of president of the Federal Land Bank for the Third District; once he left to take that position, he was succeeded by Raymond T. Baker. In April, Joyce asked Baker for written confirmation of von Engelken's order, and after he obliged, the mint mark was duly moved. The majority of the 1917 half dollars struck at Denver (1917-D) and San Francisco (1917-S) bear the mint mark on the reverse.

Throughout the time in which the Mint struck the Walking Liberty half dollar, it had difficulty bringing out the design fully. According to Breen,

Mint authorities knew well that the Weinman design, despite its great artistic merit, no matter how thorough Barber's original attempt to reduce relief, was technically unsatisfactory. Areas of highest relief still opposed relief areas on the other side.

The San Francisco Mint especially had difficulty with the coins; many pieces struck there are noticeably weak. In 1918 Morgan, who had succeeded Barber as Engraver after the latter's death the previous year, modified the design, incising some of the details at Liberty's neck. According to Breen, "The attempt was a failure." Morgan's successor, John R. Sinnock made additional attempts in 1937 and 1938, with little better results. Breen suggested that the difficulties in striking the piece contributed to the willingness to replace it after World War II.

No Walking Liberty half dollar is especially rare, but many dates are scarce in Mint State condition, particularly the 1921 and 1921-D. The Mint struck proof coins in 1916–1917 and 1936–1942, all at Philadelphia. The 1916 pieces were struck in very small numbers—Breen stated that he had seen only four—and only three 1917 proof coins are confirmed, most likely struck for VIPs at a time when proof coins were not sold to the public. A number of the later proof coins lack Weinman's monogram, apparently lost through overpolishing of dies. This is most common with the 1941 proof pieces—much of the year's production lacks the monogram—but is known for other years. A total of 74,400 proof coins were struck for the series.

There are few varieties in the series, and they are relatively minor. They principally involve the mint mark: several repunchings, one overpunching of a D over an S in 1942, and some changes in size. One oddity is the 1943/1942, which is not a true overdate but was formed by a working die struck once from a 1942-dated master die, and once from one dated 1943. Some 1946 half dollars show a doubled die on the reverse.