1917-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar, Reverse Mint Mark
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 5,554,000 made
- Mintage
- 5,554,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 12.5 g
- Diameter
- 30.6 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1917-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar, Reverse Mint Mark worth?
In worn condition it trades for about its silver content, 0.3617 troy ounces. Uncirculated coins with full luster or attractive toning sell for more.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1917-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar, Reverse Mint Mark rare?
- Not by date: 5.6 million were struck. A sharp uncirculated coin or a known variety is what makes one special.
- Is the 1917-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar, Reverse Mint Mark silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.3617 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1917 Walking Liberty Half Dollar?
- On the obverse below IN GOD WE TRUST (1916 and some 1917), or on the reverse at the lower left near the rim (some 1917). On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1917 are scarcer?
- The 1916-S at 508,000, the 1921-S at 548,000, the 1917-S, Obverse Mint Mark at 952,000, plus 2 more. So the 1917-S is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1917-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar, Reverse Mint Mark coins were made?
- 5,554,000.
What to check on your 1917-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1917-D (765,400 made).
- Check where the mint mark is. In 1917 it moved from the obverse, below IN GOD WE TRUST, to the reverse at the lower left. Both positions exist for Denver and San Francisco coins of this year and they are collected as separate issues.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Judge the grade under good light. Check Liberty's left hand, the skirt lines over her leg and the eagle's breast. Fully struck hands and heads are unusual.
Circulated examples are usually traded for their silver content. Pick out the best ones: original luster and attractive toning lift a coin above melt, while cleaned coins lose most of their collector value. A full strike shows Liberty's left hand and the lines of her skirt clearly. Many dates, especially from branch mints, come weakly struck in those areas.
The story of the 1917-S
San Francisco ramped up hard in 1917: 5,554,000 coins, about 5.8 times the 1917 run. In 1918 the figure was 10 million.
1917-D came to 765,400 and 1917-S came to 952,000 and 1917-D came to 1.9 million and 1917 came to 12 million, so neither mint's 1917 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Across San Francisco's 24 Walking Liberty Half Dollar issues, the hardest to find is the 1916-S with 508,000 made. The 1917-S is one of the easier ones. Within the 1910s it's 11th smallest of 14, between the 1918-D (3.9 million) and the 1918 (6.6 million).
Weinman's design and the obverse mint mark (1916 to 1917)
Adolph A. Weinman's Walking Liberty half dollar was first struck in 1916 and reached the public in January 1917. Liberty strides toward the rising sun wrapped in the flag. On the reverse an eagle perches on a rock beside a mountain pine sapling. Weinman's AW monogram sits under the tips of the eagle's wings. The first coins carry the mint mark on the obverse below IN GOD WE TRUST.
The 1916 Philadelphia coins, 608,000 struck, have no mint mark. The 1916-S, at 508,000, is the scarcest of the first-year issues. In 1917 the mint mark moved to the reverse near the rim at the lower left, so the 1917-D and 1917-S exist in both positions. The obverse mint mark versions of 1917 are the scarcer pair. First-year coins are often found well worn with flat centers.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1917
The Standing Liberty quarter was redesigned to cover Liberty with chain mail. The mint mark on the Walking Liberty half dollar moved from the obverse to the reverse.
How to recognize it
Adolph Weinman's design shows Liberty draped in the flag, striding toward the rising sun with branches of laurel and oak in her arm. The reverse shows an eagle perched on a rocky crag with a pine sapling growing beside it. On 1916 and some 1917 coins the mint mark is on the obverse below IN GOD WE TRUST; after that it is on the reverse at the lower left, near the rim.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Walking Liberty Half Dollar (1916–1947) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1917 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 5,554,000 |
| Face value | 50¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 12.5 grams |
| Diameter | 30.6 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.3617 troy oz (11.250 g) |
| Designer | Adolph A. Weinman |
Other 1917 Walking Liberty Half Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 Walking Liberty Half Dollar, Reverse Mint Mark | 12,292,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
| 1917-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar, Obverse Mint Mark | 765,400 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
| 1917-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar, Reverse Mint Mark | 1,940,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
| 1917-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar, Obverse Mint Mark | 952,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
| 1917-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar, Reverse Mint Mark | 5,554,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
Mintage: United States half dollar mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.