1928-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 1,940,000 made
- Mintage
- 1,940,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 12.5 g
- Diameter
- 30.6 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1928-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar worth?
It's scarcer than a typical date, so even circulated examples sell above face and above their metal value. The best uncirculated coins are where the money is.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1928-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar rare?
- Somewhat. 1,940,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1928-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.3617 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1928 Walking Liberty Half Dollar?
- On the reverse, at the lower left near the rim, below the pine branch. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1928 are scarcer?
- The 1933-S at 1,786,000, the 1929-S at 1,902,000. So the 1928-S is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1928-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar coins were made?
- 1,940,000.
What to check on your 1928-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Judge the grade under good light. Check Liberty's left hand, the skirt lines over her leg and the eagle's breast. Fully struck hands and heads are unusual.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more. A full strike shows Liberty's left hand and the lines of her skirt clearly. Many dates, especially from branch mints, come weakly struck in those areas.
The story of the 1928-S
Output at San Francisco slipped to 1,940,000 in 1928, from 2.4 million the year before. In 1929 the figure was 1.9 million.
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1928 you find is from San Francisco. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1917-D, Reverse Mint Mark (1,940,000) and the 1929-S (1,902,000).
Across San Francisco's 24 Walking Liberty Half Dollar issues, the hardest to find is the 1916-S with 508,000 made. The 1928-S is on the scarcer side of the middle. Within the 1920s it's 7th smallest of 11, between the 1929-S (1.9 million) and the 1923-S (2.2 million).
Soft strikes and scarce postwar dates (1918 to 1929)
Mintages fell after World War I, reaching only 246,000 at Philadelphia, 208,000 at Denver and 548,000 at San Francisco in 1921. These three 1921 coins are the keys of the series. The 1921-D is the rarest. The 1919 issues from all three mints are also scarce, especially in better grades. Most survivors of these dates are well worn.
No halves were struck in 1922 or from 1924 to 1926. Only San Francisco struck them in 1923, 1927 and 1928. Weinman's design was hard to strike, so coins from these years often show flat centers on Liberty's head and left hand. Fully struck examples of the 1919-D, 1920-D and 1923-S are seldom seen. The 1929-D and 1929-S close the period with mintages near one and two million.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1928
The Peace dollar was struck only in Philadelphia and San Francisco. The Philadelphia figure of 360,649 is the lowest of the series.
How to recognize it
Adolph Weinman's design shows Liberty draped in the flag, striding toward the rising sun with branches of laurel and oak in her arm. The reverse shows an eagle perched on a rocky crag with a pine sapling growing beside it. On 1916 and some 1917 coins the mint mark is on the obverse below IN GOD WE TRUST; after that it is on the reverse at the lower left, near the rim.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Walking Liberty Half Dollar (1916–1947) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1928 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 1,940,000 |
| Face value | 50¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 12.5 grams |
| Diameter | 30.6 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.3617 troy oz (11.250 g) |
| Designer | Adolph A. Weinman |
Mintage: United States half dollar mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.