1938-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Denver Mint · 491,600 made
- Mintage
- 491,600
- 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 1938-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar worth?
It's scarcer than a typical date, so even circulated examples sell above face and above their metal value. The best uncirculated coins are where the money is.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1938-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar rare?
- Yes. Only 491,600 were made, 3rd lowest of the 65 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1938-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.3617 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1938 Walking Liberty Half Dollar?
- On the reverse, at the lower left near the rim, below the pine branch. On this coin the mark is D, for Denver.
- Which Denver dates near 1938 are scarcer?
- None. Within five years either side, no Denver issue had a smaller mintage than the 1938-D.
- How many 1938-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar coins were made?
- 491,600.
What to check on your 1938-D
- Make sure the mint mark really is a D. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1938 (4.1 million made).
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1938 Walking Liberty Half Dollar Proof (8,152 made) is the one to compare with.
- 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.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more. 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. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the mint mark and date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1938-D
Production at Denver fell off a cliff in 1938. Only 491,600 were made, against 1.7 million the year before. That drop is why the 1938-D is the one people look for. In 1939 the figure was 4.3 million.
The other mint made far more that year: 1938 alone came to 4.1 million, roughly 8.4 for every 1938-D. If you're checking a pile of 1938 coins, the D is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1916-S (508,000) and the 1921-S (548,000).
Only the 1921-D has a lower mintage among Denver's 21 Walking Liberty Half Dollars. No Walking Liberty Half Dollar of the 1930s had a smaller run.
A pause then steady Depression output (1930 to 1940)
No half dollars were struck from 1930 to 1932 while the Depression cut demand for coins. San Francisco resumed with 1,786,000 in 1933. From 1934 all three mints produced halves in most years. Philadelphia passed 12 million in 1936. Denver skipped 1940 and San Francisco skipped 1938.
Proof Walking Liberty halves were offered from 1936. The 1938-D, with only 491,600 struck, is the lowest mintage of the later years and the key of this period. Coins of the 1930s are easier to find in uncirculated grades than earlier dates because roll collecting caught on during the decade. Strikes also tend to be sharper than on the coins of the 1920s, though full detail on Liberty's hand is still uncommon. Most worn examples are now valued for their silver.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1938
Felix Schlag's Jefferson nickel replaced the Buffalo nickel after a public design competition.
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 | 1938 |
| Mint | Denver Mint |
| Mint mark | "D" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 491,600 |
| 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 1938 Walking Liberty Half Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 Walking Liberty Half Dollar | 4,110,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
| 1938 Walking Liberty Half Dollar Proof | 8,152 | Proof | 0.3617 oz |
| 1938-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar | 491,600 | 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.