The Walking Liberty Half Dollar is one of the most enduring designs in American coinage. Issued from 1916 through 1947, the 90% silver half dollar features Adolph A. Weinman's dramatic image of Liberty walking toward the rising sun—a design so admired that the United States Mint brought it back decades later for the American Silver Eagle.
A New Generation of American Coinage
The Walking Liberty Half Dollar debuted in 1916, replacing the Barber Half Dollar. It arrived alongside two other new designs: Weinman's Winged Liberty Head, commonly called the Mercury Dime, and Hermon A. MacNeil's Standing Liberty Quarter.
Together, the new coins represented a major visual change in American circulating coinage. Rather than relying on the more formal portrait style of the preceding Barber designs, the new coins used expressive interpretations of Liberty and American ideals.
Adolph A. Weinman's Walking Liberty
Sculptor Adolph A. Weinman designed both sides of the Walking Liberty Half Dollar.
On the obverse, Liberty strides toward the rising sun with her right arm extended. She is enveloped in the folds of the American flag and carries branches of laurel and oak in her left arm, symbols associated with civil and military achievement.
The word LIBERTY curves around the upper edge, while IN GOD WE TRUST appears to Liberty's right and the date appears below.
The Eagle Reverse
The reverse presents an American eagle perched on a rocky outcrop with its wings unfolded. A mountain pine grows from the rock beside the eagle.
The inscriptions include UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM and HALF DOLLAR.
Rather than using a formal heraldic eagle, Weinman's naturalistic treatment gives the reverse much of the same sense of movement and strength found on the obverse.
Three U.S. Mints
Walking Liberty Half Dollars were produced at the Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco Mints. Philadelphia pieces normally have no mint mark, while Denver and San Francisco coins can carry D and S mint marks.
Collectors may notice an unusual detail on early examples. During 1916 and part of 1917, the mint mark appeared on the obverse. During 1917 it was moved to the reverse, where it remained for the rest of the series.
90% Silver American Coinage
Walking Liberty Half Dollars were struck in the traditional U.S. silver coinage alloy of 90% silver and 10% copper. The copper increased durability while silver made up the overwhelming majority of the coin.
That composition is important at CoinCrafters because the original coin itself becomes the finished piece of jewelry. Our Walking Liberty pieces begin with genuine historic 90% silver U.S. half dollars rather than replicas of Weinman's design.
Walking Liberty Half Dollar Specifications
| Denomination | Half Dollar / 50 Cents |
|---|---|
| Issue Years | 1916–1947 |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 12.50 grams |
| Diameter | 30.6 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Designer | Adolph A. Weinman |
The End of Walking Liberty Half Dollar Production
1947 was the final year of the Walking Liberty Half Dollar. It was replaced in 1948 by the Franklin Half Dollar, featuring Benjamin Franklin on the obverse and the Liberty Bell on the reverse.
The change also marked the end of a long tradition: according to the United States Mint, 1947 was the last year that a woman symbolizing Liberty appeared on a U.S. circulating coin.
A Design Reborn on the American Silver Eagle
Weinman's Walking Liberty did not disappear from American coinage. When the United States Mint launched the American Eagle Coin Program in 1986, it selected the Walking Liberty design for the obverse of the one-ounce American Silver Eagle.
In 2021, the Mint refreshed the Silver Eagle obverse using original historical assets to more closely reflect Weinman's original artistic vision and restored his traditional artist mark.
This creates a direct design connection between two very different American silver coins: the historic 1916–1947 Walking Liberty Half Dollar and the modern American Silver Eagle.
The Walking Liberty Half Dollar at CoinCrafters
CoinCrafters uses genuine 1916–1947 Walking Liberty Half Dollars in several handcrafted pieces, including our Walking Liberty Half Dollar Coin Ring and Walking Liberty Coin Necklace.
The historic coin is also used in our Spartan Mask Walking Liberty Coin Necklace and Walking Liberty Half Dollar 3-Piece Puzzle.
In each case, the starting material is an authentic U.S. Walking Liberty Half Dollar—not a reproduction of the coin's design.
Sources & Further Reading
This history was prepared using information from the United States Mint. For additional information, visit the U.S. Mint's Half Dollar history and its American Eagle Silver Coin information.