1947 Walking Liberty Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 4,094,000 made
- Mintage
- 4,094,000
- 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 1947 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 1947 Walking Liberty Half Dollar rare?
- No. 4.1 million were made, a typical run for the series. Condition and varieties decide its value, not the date.
- Is the 1947 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 1947 Walking Liberty Half Dollar?
- On the reverse, at the lower left near the rim, below the pine branch. No mint mark means Philadelphia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1947 are scarcer?
- None. Within five years either side, no Philadelphia issue had a smaller mintage than the 1947.
- How many 1947 Walking Liberty Half Dollar coins were made?
- 4,094,000.
What to check on your 1947
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- 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 1947
Philadelphia made 4,094,000 in 1947, down from 12 million in 1946. It was also the last year of the series.
1947-D came to 3.9 million, so neither mint's 1947 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Philadelphia struck the Walking Liberty Half Dollar in 20 issues between 1916 and 1947. By mintage this one lands in the scarcer half, while the key for that mint is the 1921 (246,000). Within the 1940s it's 4th smallest of 22, between the 1947-D (3.9 million) and the 1940-S (4.5 million).
The short set of wartime halves (1941 to 1947)
Wartime demand pushed Philadelphia mintages to 47.8 million in 1942 and 53.2 million in 1943. Denver and San Francisco each struck around 8 to 13 million a year during the war. Because coins from 1941 to 1947 are common in high grades, many collectors assemble them as a short set rather than chasing the full series.
Some 1941 proofs lack Weinman's AW monogram because the die was polished too heavily. The 1946 doubled die reverse shows strong doubling in E PLURIBUS UNUM and in the eagle's feathers. Proofs ended after 1942. Production fell to about 4 million each at Philadelphia and Denver in 1947, the last year before the Franklin half. San Francisco made no halves that year. Silver remained at 90 percent throughout.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1947
The last Walking Liberty half dollars were struck before the Franklin half dollar replaced them.
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 | 1947 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 4,094,000 |
| 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 1947 Walking Liberty Half Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 Walking Liberty Half Dollar | 4,094,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3617 oz |
| 1947-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar | 3,900,600 | 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.