Walking Liberty Half Dollar Value Chart: Every Date From 1916 to 1947

The dates to check first

These are the lowest-mintage Walking Liberty halves struck for circulation. If you're sorting a jar or an inherited collection, pull these dates out before anything else and check the mint mark carefully.

1. 1921-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar: 208,000 made. The 1921-D has the lowest mintage of the Walking Liberty series.
2. 1921 Walking Liberty Half Dollar: 246,000 made.
3. 1938-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar: 491,600 made.
4. 1916-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar: 508,000 made.
5. 1921-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar: 548,000 made.
6. 1916 Walking Liberty Half Dollar: 608,000 made.

Every walking liberty half dollar by date and mint

Click any date for its full page: how many were made, the mint mark location, varieties and what to check. Mint marks matter: the same year can be common from one mint and scarce from another.

The series in 4 stages

Weinman's design and the obverse mint mark (1916 to 1917)

Adolph A. Weinman's Walking Liberty half dollar was first struck in 1916 and reached the public in January 1917. Liberty strides toward the rising sun wrapped in the flag. On the reverse an eagle perches on a rock beside a mountain pine sapling. Weinman's AW monogram sits under the tips of the eagle's wings. The first coins carry the mint mark on the obverse below IN GOD WE TRUST.

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.

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.

The short set of wartime halves (1941 to 1947)

Wartime demand pushed Philadelphia mintages to 47.8 million in 1942 and 53.2 million in 1943. Denver and San Francisco each struck around 8 to 13 million a year during the war. Because coins from 1941 to 1947 are common in high grades, many collectors assemble them as a short set rather than chasing the full series.

Decade by decade

• 1910s: 14 issues, 48 million coins. Scarcest: 1916-S (508,000).
• 1920s: 11 issues, 23 million coins. Scarcest: 1921-D (208,000).
• 1930s: 18 issues, 83 million coins. Scarcest: 1938-D (491,600).
• 1940s: 22 issues, 331 million coins. Scarcest: 1946-D (2,151,000).

Where to find the mint mark

• 1916 to 1917: On the obverse below IN GOD WE TRUST (1916 and some 1917), or on the reverse at the lower left near the rim (some 1917).
• 1918 to 1947: On the reverse, at the lower left near the rim, below the pine branch.

Identifying and grading Walking Liberty halves

Check Liberty's left hand, the skirt lines over her leg and the eagle's breast. Fully struck hands and heads are unusual.

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.

What the value bands mean

• Face value: worth its face in worn condition; only uncirculated coins and varieties carry a premium.
• Metal value: worth its silver content in worn condition.
• Small premium: sells for a little over face or metal value even when worn.
• Collector premium: scarcer than usual, so worn coins sell well above face or metal value.
• Significant rarity: a key date, valuable in any condition and often faked.

Bands describe a coin in ordinary circulated condition. An uncirculated coin with full original luster sits a band or more higher. Recognized varieties can be worth far more than the date itself.