50¢ · Silver · Circulating
Walking Liberty Half Dollar
Weinman's full-length Liberty design, widely collected by date and mint and often evaluated for central strike quality.
- Designer
- Adolph A. Weinman
- Classic dates
- 1916–1947
- Mint facilities
- Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco
01 · Overview
Why the Walking Liberty Half Dollar matters
Adolph A. Weinman's Walking Liberty half dollar joined the dime in the 1916 redesign and remained in production through 1947. The obverse later became the basis of the American Silver Eagle, but the circulating half has its own strike and mintmark logic.
Early dates and branch issues can be difficult in higher grades, while later short sets are more accessible. Strike at Liberty's hand and central skirt, luster, and the eagle's breast are central to comparison.
02 · Design
Reading the design
Liberty walking toward dawn
The hand, head, breast, skirt lines, and flag folds reveal strike and friction.
Eagle on a mountain crag
Eagle breast, leg, and pine sapling carry Weinman's naturalistic reverse and key strike diagnostics.
03 · Specifications
Nominal issue specifications
- Denomination
- 50¢
- Composition
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Nominal weight
- 12.50 g
- Diameter
- 30.6 mm
- Edge
- Reeded
- Series dates
- 1916–1947
Nominal specifications describe regular classic issues. Patterns, proofs, special strikes, production tolerances, and later commemorative or modern versions may differ.
04 · Grading population
How many have been certified at each grade
No static census copied here. Full grade-by-grade counts change and are not republished without the exact issue, service, strike, designation, source, and as-of date. Use the official tools below; verified figures for an individual Nucoins coin appear on that coin's listing.
Population reports count submissions certified by a grading service. They do not count every surviving coin, and a series-wide total is not a substitute for the exact date, mint, variety, strike, designation, and grade. Nucoins listings show the population in the listed grade and the number graded higher when those figures have been checked against an official report.
- Population in grade
- Coins recorded by that service for the exact issue and assigned grade.
- Higher / finer
- Coins recorded by the same service in numerically higher applicable grades.
- Report date
- The date the figure was checked; counts can change after submissions, resubmissions, and database updates.
05 · Issue map
The series in stages
01 · 1916–1917
Mintmark transition
Mintmarks appear on the obverse for 1916 and part of 1917, then move to the reverse.
02 · 1918–1933
Early and middle dates
Includes key 1919 and 1921 issues and a long production gap after 1923.
03 · 1934–1947
Later production
A popular short-set era with higher mintages but meaningful condition and strike differences.
Notable issue checkpoints
Production figures describe coins struck, not coins surviving or certified. Linked issue records provide the context for each figure.
06 · Examination
What photographs should help you examine
Obverse
Hand, head, and skirt
Distinguish incomplete central strike from rub and luster breaks.
Reverse
Eagle breast and leg
Read feather detail, leg, branch, and fields for strike, wear, and contact.
Edge / holder
Mintmark location
For 1916–1917, confirm whether the mintmark belongs on obverse or reverse.
07 · Before buying
Questions the listing should answer
01
Date and mint are only the beginning
A mintage figure records production, not the number surviving in a particular grade. Distribution, melting, storage, bag handling, and later collector demand all affect availability. Compare the complete issue and condition before drawing conclusions from mintage alone.
02
Surface quality can separate coins in the same grade
Two coins with the same assigned grade can differ in luster, strike, marks, toning, and overall visual balance. Review the focal areas and protected fields appropriate to the design rather than treating the grade number as a complete description.
03
Verify attribution before paying for it
Mint mark, recognized variety, special finish, and holder designation should agree with the coin and its certification record. Do not assume that an undocumented nickname or seller description establishes a variety.
08 · Sources
Primary references
This guide is educational and intentionally type-level. Issue-specific attribution, mintage, certification, and condition should be verified for the individual coin.