History of US Silver Half-Dollars - The Nevada Silver Collection

The Nevada Silver Collection
Beautiful, Mysterious Liberty Walking Half-Dollars

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U.S. SILVER HALF-DOLLARS

The Nevada Silver Collection contains Walking Liberty silver half-dollars. Please read on to learn more about these great coins and a general history of the half-dollar in the United States.

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Walking Liberty Silver Half-Dollars

In 1915, United States Mint Director Robert W. Woolley welcomed three noted sculptors to design templates for three silver coins that would become the Mercury dime, the Standing Liberty quarter, and the Walking Liberty half-dollar (also referred to as the "Liberty Walking" type, or "Walker" for short). A. A. Weinman was awarded the designs for both the dime and the half-dollar.

Adolph A. Weinman immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1880 at the age of ten. He studied under the tutelage of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, designer of the $20 Saint-Gaudens gold piece, often considered America's most beautiful coin. Weinman's initials, AW, can be found under the wing tip of the eagle on the Walking Liberty halves.

The obverse of the coin (pictured left) depicts Lady Liberty in full stride, cloaked in Old Glory, walking towards a new day. She carries branches of laurel and oak in her arms. The motto "In God We Trust" rests to the right of her calf. The Walking Liberty half-dollars are the last regular issue coins to feature Miss Liberty. However, the image is so grand that it was duplicated in 1986 for one-ounce American Eagle silver bullion coins. The design has been used each year since.

The reverse of the coin (pictured right) features an American bald eagle with wings spread proudly. It rests on a rocky crag with mountain pine sapling springing from its cracks. This half-dollar featured many of America's most patriotic symbols as the United States prepared for the Great War. Mint marks signifying the city where these coins were struck are located just below the pine sapling for all coins struck after 1917. (For the first year and a half, the mint mark was located on the obverse under the motto.)

Walking Liberty half-dollars were minted from 1916 until 1947. However, none were minted in 1922, or between the years of 1924-26 and 1930-32. These half-dollars span 30.6 millimeters in diameter and have a weight of 12.50 grams. Composed of 90% silver and 10% copper, each Walker contains a net weight of 0.36169 ounces of pure silver and has a reeded edge.

A History of the Silver Half-Dollar

Before the Walkers
The first United States silver half-dollars were minted in 1794, long before the Liberty Walking type came to light. They were authorized by an act of Congress on April 2, 1792. Many different varieties (die and other) exist for the early types of half-dollars.

From 1794 until 1807, the United States minted three different types of half dollars: Flowing Hair (1794-5), Draped Bust with a Small Eagle Reverse (1796-7), and Draped Bust with a Heraldic Eagle Reverse (1801-7). The Capped Bust type, minted between 1807-1839 had a lettered edge until 1837. Liberty Seated type (1839-1891) and Liberty Head type (1892-1915), designed by Christian Goebrecht and Charles Barber respectively, were the last two types of half-dollars before Walking Liberties were struck in 1916.

After the Walkers
In 1948, the United States began minting Franklin-Liberty Bell silver half-dollars and continued to do so until the advent of the Kennedy half-dollar in 1964. This design continues today, but the coin has undergone several composition changes. In 1964 only, the Kennedy half-dollars were composed of 90% silver as had the previous issues of silver half-dollars.

The next year, U.S. Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1965, which reduced the amount of silver in our nation's silver coinage to 40% silver. With an outer composition of 80% silver and 20% copper bonded to a core of 20.9% silver and 79.1% copper, each Kennedy half-dollar from 1965-70 contained 0.1479 ounces of pure silver. In 1971, the metal make-up was again changed to remove all silver and has remained the same since. Proof Kennedy half-dollars minted from 1992 onward have the same metal composition as the 1964 Kennedy half-dollars.

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