1933-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 1,786,000 made
- Mintage
- 1,786,000
- 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 1933-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 1933-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar rare?
- Somewhat. 1,786,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1933-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 1933 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 1933 are scarcer?
- None. Within five years either side, no San Francisco issue had a smaller mintage than the 1933-S.
- How many 1933-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar coins were made?
- 1,786,000.
What to check on your 1933-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 1933-S
San Francisco hadn't struck the Walking Liberty Half Dollar since 1929. When it came back in 1933, it made 1,786,000. In 1934 the figure was 3.7 million.
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1933 you find is from San Francisco. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1929-S (1,902,000) and the 1937-D (1,676,000).
Across San Francisco's 24 Walking Liberty Half Dollar issues, the hardest to find is the 1916-S with 508,000 made. The 1933-S is on the scarcer side of the middle. Within the 1930s it's 3rd smallest of 18, between the 1937-D (1.7 million) and the 1937-S (2.1 million).
A pause then steady Depression output (1930 to 1940)
No half dollars were struck from 1930 to 1932 while the Depression cut demand for coins. San Francisco resumed with 1,786,000 in 1933. From 1934 all three mints produced halves in most years. Philadelphia passed 12 million in 1936. Denver skipped 1940 and San Francisco skipped 1938.
Proof Walking Liberty halves were offered from 1936. The 1938-D, with only 491,600 struck, is the lowest mintage of the later years and the key of this period. Coins of the 1930s are easier to find in uncirculated grades than earlier dates because roll collecting caught on during the decade. Strikes also tend to be sharper than on the coins of the 1920s, though full detail on Liberty's hand is still uncommon. Most worn examples are now valued for their silver.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1933
President Roosevelt's Executive Order 6102 required most gold coins to be turned in to the government. More than 445,000 double eagles dated 1933 were struck but never officially released. US gold coinage for circulation ended.
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 | 1933 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 1,786,000 |
| 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.