The Walking Liberty Half Dollar

The Walking Liberty Half Dollar has an interesting history. Robert W. Woolley was the new United States Mint Director in 1915 and he believed that it was required by law to change our coinage every 25 years due to this passage of legislature,

“The Director of the Mint shall have power, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, to cause new designs … to be prepared and adopted … But no change in the design or die of any coin shall be made oftener than once in twenty-five years from and including the year of the first adoption of the design … But the Director of the Mint shall nevertheless have power, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, to engage temporarily the services of one or more artists, distinguished in their respective departments of art, who shall be paid for such service from the contingent appropriation for the mint at Philadelphia.”

The current coinage at the time was the Barber coinage designed by Charles E. Barber so Woolley began the process of replacing it.

A competition was held and resulted in Adolph A. Weinman creating the winning design. The design of the Walking Liberty Half features a depiction of the goddess Liberty walking left towards the sun while holding a bundle of branches and an American flag. The reverse depicts an eagle outstretching its wings looking as if it is about to take flight.

If the design of this coin looks familiar to you, that is most likely because a slightly modified version of this design is used for the American Silver Eagle. This design is considered by some to be one of the most beautiful designs in American coinage.

Good Ole Toms has a great selection of Walking Liberty Half Dollars, and so much more! Come see what you can find in our online store today!