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Walking
Liberty Set Tough Enough to be Fun(con't)
Certainly
as the first year of a new design there was going to be greater saving
than would normally be the case. If we look at the prices of the three
Walking Liberty half dollars of 1916, we see some evidence of that.
The 1916 from Philadelphia is $32.50 in G-4, $270 in MS-60 and $ 1,4250
in MS-65. The 1916-D is $25 in G-4, $275 in MS60 and $ 1,800 in MS-65
while the 1916-S is $95 in G-4, $1,000 in MS-60 and $4.700 in MS-65.
When you look at the 1916 mintages and prices, especially in MS-60,
and compare them to other Walking Liberty half dollars, it becomes
very clear that for their mintages the 1916 Walking Liberty half dollars
are not at all expensive. Even the 1916-S at $1,000 in MS-60 is not
out of line, as there are eight other dates with prices equal to or
greater than the 1916-S but it is the fourth lowest mintage Walking
Liberty half dollar, making it clearly more available at a lower price
than its mintage would indicate. The logical reason is they were saved
at the time when they were initially released.
In fact, there is added demand for the 1916 and
some 1917 dates as they are significant type coins. In 1916 and some of 1917
the mintmark was on the obverse, but starting with some 1917 and all later production
it was moved to the reverse. Many type collectors want examples of both the obverse
and a reverse mintmark Walking Liberty half, but of the four available only the
1916-D had a mintage of even one million pieces. The 1917-D obverse mintmark
had a production of 765,400, and the 1917-S with the obverse mintmark checked
in with a 952,000-piece mintage. That makes for added demand but a very small
supply of available coins, even tougher in top grades.
With the mintmark moved from below the word TRUST
on the obverse to near the rim at about 8 o'clock on the reverse, the Walking
Liberty half dollar had a permanent design that would last until it was replaced
in 1948 by the Franklin half dollar. Mintages grew to be higher than had been
seen in the past with a few important exceptions.
Of all the Walking Liberty half dollar dates from
1918 through the last coins in 1947, only four coins had a mintage well below
one million and a fifth, the 1919, came in at a total of 962,000. All other dates
are safely over one million pieces and a significant number are over five million.
Prior to the introduction of the Walking Liberty half dollar, five million pieces
was about as high as most half dollar mintages would ever go.
The 1919 being barely below one million in mintage
is basically just a better Walking Liberty half dollar, with a G-4 listing of
$18.50, an MS-60 listing of $1,000 and an MS-65 listing of $5,000. It's not the
key Walking Liberty half dollar.
The three Walking Liberty half dollars from 1921
are very different. It must be remembered 1921 was an unusual year. Massive silver
dollar production was resumed in 1921, in addition to the introduction of the
new Peace dollar design late in the year. The silver dollar production strained
the Mint, and that is seen in vastly lower mintages for all silver coins of that
year and for a couple years following. It is no accident there were no 1922 Walking
Liberty half dollars - the facilities were simply too busy making silver dollars.
The 1921 half dollar mintage was perilously close
to a token level of production. The Philadelphia mintage was 246,000, Denver
produced 208,000 and San Francisco held an unusual place as the highest mintage
of the three at 548,000. Historically, those mintages were not low for half dollars,
but for the Walking Liberty half they would prove to be unusually low - the Philadelphia
and Denver totals would stand up as the two lowest mintages in the history of
Walking Liberty half dollars.
The Walking Liberty halves of 1921 are tough today.
Unlike the 1916 coins, they were not heavily saved. The Philadelphia starts at
$110 in G-4 and rises to $3,200 in MS-60 and $12,000 in MS-65. The 1921-D with
the lowest mintage has the highest price in G-4 at $160. In MS-60 the 1921-D
is $3,400 and in MS-65 it is at $15,000. The 1921-S had the highest mintage of
the three, reflected in its current $29 G-4 price, but it is very tough in upper
grades as seen in a $11,000 MS-60 price and an MS-65 price of $60,000.
As a group, the three 1921 dates have been a key
group of Walking Liberty halves, along with the 1916 and 1917 obverse mintmark
coins. If you were attempting a collection of Walking Liberty halves from circulation,
there was not really one key coin like a 1916-D Mercury dime, but rather two
groups you needed, and even if you could find a 1917-D with an obverse mintmark
you might have a terrible time finding a 1916-D. It was true with the 1921 dates
as well - you might find a 1921-D and 1921-S but would seemingly never find the
Philadelphia 1921.
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