1944 Walking Liberty Half Dollars 1916-1947 MS65

History

The design originated in a redesign campaign rather than any commemorative legislation. In 1915 Mint Director Robert W. Woolley concluded that the law not only permitted but required replacement of coin designs in use for 25 years, and he set about retiring the Barber coinage. Adolph A. Weinman's half dollar motif was selected in 1916, displacing the Barber design that had served since 1892, and the same sculptor supplied the dime introduced that year. Production of the type ran through 1947, and by 1944 it was in its final phase, struck at Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco in large numbers.

Details

Adolph Alexander Weinman designed both sides. The coin was struck in the standard 90 percent silver, 10 percent copper alloy at 12.50 grams and roughly 30.6 millimeters in diameter. The Denver Mint produced 9,769,000 pieces in 1944, each carrying a D mint mark.

Features

Liberty walks toward the sun on the obverse, right arm outstretched and left arm cradling a bundle of branches, a starry cape behind her, with LIBERTY above, IN GOD WE TRUST at the lower right and the date below. The reverse shows an eagle perched on a rocky crag from which a pine branch grows, and the D mint mark sits at the lower left beneath that branch, the position used for all issues after the first year and part of 1917. Strike is rarely a complaint on this date, which is often found with heavy white frosty luster, in contrast to the 1944 Philadelphia coins that can come slightly soft. PCGS recognizes one major variety for the date, the FS-901 Hand Engraved Initials.

Notable facts

• Each coin contains 0.3617 troy ounce of pure silver.
• The edge is reeded.
• Business-strike production for the entire Walking Liberty half dollar series totaled 485,320,340 coins, alongside 74,400 proofs.
• An MS68 example brought $57,600 at auction on June 16, 2021, while the FS-901 variety's high mark is $3,290 for an MS67+ sold August 5, 2014.
• The series keys were struck in far smaller quantities, with the 1916-S at 508,000 pieces and the 1916-D at 1,014,400.