There are four varieties and one popular error in the Walking Liberty Half Dollar series with different mintmark placements for the 1917 Denver and San Francisco coins and one 1946 doubled die reverse.
We’ll begin with the mintmark placements. The 1917 Philadelphia half, of course, had no mintmark. But initially, the halves from the Denver and San Francisco mints had the same placements as 1916 D and S. Production began in January. In February, Mint Director F. J. H. von Engelken thought the mintmark under the motto looked like a die defect; so he ordered the mintmark moved to the reverse, thus creating four varieties.
Here is a visual of the four half dollars:
Because production was halted, we know the mintage of each variety: 1917-D Obverse, 765,400; 1917-D Reverse, 1,940,000; 1917-S Obverse, 952,000; and 1917-S Reverse, 5,554,000. Any of the four in uncirculated condition retails in the thousands. Typically, if you’re a bank roll hunter, you will find worn examples. Values for VF30 are 1917-D Obverse, $250; 1917-D Reverse, $285; 1917-S Obverse, $650; and 1917-S Reverse, $150.
The reverse mintmark remained on Walking Liberty Halves coins through 1947, the last year in the series.
A year earlier, the Mint at Philadelphia, a die contained doubled letters on the reverse. PCGS estimates some 3,000 were released into circulation. Here is an illustration:
The doubling here is easy to spot on the “L,” “U” and “R.” An example in Good 4 is worth $50, rising to $110 in VF30 and in the hundreds and thousands in almost uncirculated and mint state.
The popularity of these varieties and doubled die is based on their often turning up in worn condition in bank rolls. Happy Hunting!
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