[The following excerpt is published courtesy of DLRC Press and its author, Bruce Fox. This information was originally published in 1993 in The Complete Guide to Walking Liberty Half Dollars]
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MINTAGE: 8,098,000
VARIETIES: V 101 – Small “S” (Normal) (Breen 5183).
V 102 – Small “S” (Normal). “S” punched over horizontal “S” (Breen 5184, RPM #1 and CONE E-02).
V 103 – Large “S” as in 1943-1947. “S” leans to right and has pronounced, sharp serifs (Breen 5185).
V 104 – Doubled “S” west (RPM #2 and CONE E-05).
V 105 Triple “S” northwest and serifs (RPM #3 and CONE E-04).
V 106 Doubled ”S” east (CONE E-01).
V 107 -Shifted date north. Diagnostic is extra metal under last 1 and die crack down from tail of “S” (CONE A-01).
V 108- Die crack from base of 4 to rim. Die crack from last 1 to rim (CONE C-01).
V 109 – Double sun East (CONE R-01).
V 110 – Doubled “S” southwest (CONE E-03).
SCARCITY: Fully struck gems are extremely rare. Mint state and circulated grades with typical, soft strikes are common. Nice looking AU’s with center detail are very scarce.
RARITY RATING: G/VG R1; F/VF R1; EF/AU R1; MS60/MS63 R1; MS64 R2; MS65 R3
RARITY CONSENSUS: G/VG 40/65; F/VF 42/65; EF/AU 40/65; MS60/MS62 35/65; MS63 33/65; MS64 31/65; MS65 28/65
TOTAL MS PCGS/NGC/ANACS = 4079 (Ranking 47/65).
COMMENTS: Strike, eye appeal and abrasions all plague this date. It is almost as rare as the 1935-D in fully struck condition. The upper gown lines and Liberty’s hand, as well as the eagles breast, are rarely found detailed. Eye appeal ranges through the entire spectrum. Taking all this into consideration, one can imagine the rarity of a fully struck coin with eye appeal and the limited number of abrasions required to attain fully struck gem status. There may not be any. Investment potential is above avenge for grades MS63-MS64, and well above average for MS65 and higher. Fully struck gems have even more potential. It should also be noted that even a fully struck gem will not look as sharp as the 1940-P.
