1921-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar

Specifications

Denomination: 50 cents
Series: Walking Liberty half dollar
Designer: Adolph A. Weinman
Years of issue: 1921
Composition: 90% Silver, 10% Copper
Weight: 12.5 g
Diameter: 30.6 mm
Edge: Reeded
Mint marks: D (Denver)
Mintage: 208000
Key mintages: 208,000 struck — the lowest regular-issue mintage of the Walking Liberty half dollar series (Heritage Auctions).

Melt value: $23.31silver $64.40/ozt, copper $0.44/ozt · prices as of Sep 16, 2026

AI-generated illustration — not a photograph of a genuine coin.

208,000 struck at Denver — the lowest regular-issue mintage of the entire Walking Liberty half dollar series.

History

All three Walking Liberty half dollar issues of 1921 are scarce dates; the 1921-D is the scarcest, with the distinction of the lowest mintage in the entire Walking Liberty half dollar series (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16).
The Walking Liberty half dollar was designed by Adolph A. Weinman, who won the 1916 design competition for the half dollar, and his Liberty striding toward the sunrise became one of the most admired American coin designs (Wikipedia: Walking Liberty half dollar, accessed 2026-09-16).
Many 1921-D halves entered circulation, so pieces in higher Mint State grades are rare; surviving high-grade examples are condition rarities (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16).
Typical strike weakness for the issue may appear at Liberty’s head and hand, in the skirt lines, and on the eagle — weakness there is characteristic of the issue rather than wear (Heritage Auctions, accessed 2026-09-16).

1921-D (Denver, D mintmark) — mintage 208,000, the series-low regular issue and the key to the Walking Liberty half dollar series in Mint State (Heritage Auctions; APMEX).
1921 and 1921-S are the other scarce 1921 issues, but neither approaches the 1921-D’s low mintage (Heritage Auctions).

No published diagnostics found in consulted references — certification recommended.
Strike note: look for weakness at Liberty’s head and hand, skirt lines, and the eagle; on a genuine 1921-D this weakness is a striking characteristic of the issue, not damage (Heritage Auctions).
No freely licensed date-specific photograph of a 1921-D half dollar was located in consulted references; an illustration will be used rather than a copyrighted auction or grading-service image.