Walking Liberty (1916-1947)

A full-length, striding figure of Liberty is displayed on the obverse, walking to the left. She wears a soft cap, Roman-style sandals with crossed ties, and a long flowing garment of alternating solid and vertically-striped panels. Her right arm is outstretched, reaching nearly to the flat rim of the coin, while her left holds a ‘bouquet’ of long oak and laurel (or olive) branches. Behind Liberty, and wrapped partially around her left arm, an American flag of stars and stripes billows, pushed forward by an implied wind at her back. At the bottom left is the sun with rays, partially obscured by a mountainous rise. The word LIBERTY surrounds a little more than the top half of the flat rim, the L overlapping a sun ray, and BER partially obscured by Liberty, the flag, and the branch leaves. To the right, near the bottom is IN GOD WE TRUST, the words on two lines, and the date is at the center of the bottom, below the level plain upon which Liberty walks. Half dollars minted at San Francisco and Denver in 1916, and part of 1917, display S and D mintmarks below IN GOD WE TRUST.

On the reverse a majestic standing eagle, wings partially uplifted, stands on a rock outcrop facing left, the right claw clutching a pine branch (showing both needles and cones) said to be symbolic of America. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is placed near the flat rim above the eagle, and HALF DOLLAR is at the bottom. E PLURIBUS UNUM, UNUM on a separate line, is placed at the left center just above the tips of the pine branch. Center dots separate adjacent words of the text phrases, with an additional dot following AMERICA. The designer’s initials AW, the A nested beneath the W, are at the bottom right, just to the right of the rocky perch. Liberty Walking half dollars minted at Denver and San Francisco from the latter part of 1917 through the end of the series have D and S mintmarks located at the lower left, between the left of the edge of the rocky outcrop and the rim.

Walking Liberty Halves were minted in Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. Philadelphia produced coins in 1916-21, 1934-47. Denver issued coins in 1916-21, 1929, 1934-39, 1941-47. San Francisco minted coins in 1916-21, 1923, 1927-29, 1933-37, 1939-46.