1940-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 4,550,000 made
- Mintage
- 4,550,000
- 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 1940-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar 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 1940-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar rare?
- Not by date: 4.5 million were struck. A sharp uncirculated coin or a known variety is what makes one special.
- Is the 1940-S 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 1940 Walking Liberty Half Dollar?
- On the reverse, at the lower left near the rim, below the pine branch. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1940 are scarcer?
- The 1937-S at 2,090,000, the 1939-S at 2,552,000, the 1935-S at 3,854,000, plus 1 more. So the 1940-S is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1940-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar coins were made?
- 4,550,000.
What to check on your 1940-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 1940 (9.2 million made).
- 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 1940 Walking Liberty Half Dollar Proof (11,279 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.
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 1940-S
San Francisco made 4,550,000 in 1940, up from 2.6 million in 1939. In 1941 the figure was 8.1 million.
1940 came to 9.2 million, so neither mint's 1940 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 1940-S is one of the easier ones. Within the 1940s it's 5th smallest of 22, between the 1947 (4.1 million) and the 1941-S (8.1 million).
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.
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 | 1940 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 4,550,000 |
| 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 1940 Walking Liberty Half Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 Walking Liberty Half Dollar | 9,156,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
| 1940 Walking Liberty Half Dollar Proof | 11,279 | Proof | 0.3617 oz |
| 1940-S Walking Liberty Half Dollar | 4,550,000 | 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.