Rare Half Dollars: A Few With Promise

US Half Dollars

Coin collectors salivate at the mention of rare half dollars.  While in the presence of a numismatist, just casually slip in a phrase like "silver half dollar" or "liberty half dollar".  What you may observe next is akin to tossing raw meat to a starving dog!   While US half dollars are relatively large and attractive coins, very few of them have achieved consistent value appreciation over long periods of time.  We present here half dollar coins that have earned this distinction. 1921-D Walking Liberty half dollar

Date: 1921-D Series: Walking Liberty Mint: Denver

G R A D E	Estimated Coin Value in Year...					Compounded Annual % Rate of Return Since...
	1950	1980	1995	2000	2005	1950	1980	1995	2000
VG-8	3.00	100	100	175	325	8.73	4.64	11.31	10.87
F-12	5.00	150	250	250	550	8.76	5.12	7.43	14.04
VF-20	7.25	325	700	700	1150	9.47	4.98	4.62	8.63
XF-40	11.00	850	1650	2000	2500	10.17	4.24	3.85	3.79
AU-50	20.00	1250	2500	2500	3500	9.66	4.04	3.11	5.77
MS-60	27.50	2000	3000	3250	5000	9.74	3.59	4.75	7.44
MS-63	-	-	4250	5250	15000	-	-	12.15	19.12
MS-64	-	-	5000	6000	17500	-	-	12.06	19.53
MS-65	-	11500	16250	12500	27500	-	3.41	4.90	14.04
MS-66	-	-	-	25000	40000	-	-	-	8.15
MS-67	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Comments: The 1921-D has the lowest mintage of all the Walking Liberty half dollars.  Only 208,000 pieces were minted.  A favorite target of collectors, the 1921-D has consistently advanced in value over a period of many years, easily weathering boom-gone-bust bullion cycles. Purchase specimens in the best condition you can afford, but don't get down on yourself if you have to "settle" for a 1921-D Walker on the lower end of the grade spectrum; you have in your hands a classic rarity that will someday be worth substantially more than what you paid for it.

The Year This Coin Was Minted... In 1921, the Reparation Commission of Paris set Germany's liability for its role in causing World War I at $33 billion, leading to the collapse of the the German mark.  The result was hyperinflation and a wrecked economy, engendering a feeling of bitterness among the German people.  An outspoken critic of reparation payments, a young man named Adolf Hitler, begins to attract many followers. On June 1, a massive racial riot erupted in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  The melee broke out when mobs demanded the lynching of a black man accused of assaulting a white female elevator operator.  As many as 300 people were believed killed. The New York Giants defeated the New York Yankees in the 1921 "Subway Series", by a margin of five games to three.  For the first time ever, baseball games were broadcast over the radio. In West Virginia, more than 2000 federal troops staved off an attack by thousands of angry union coal miners against non-unionized labor.  Violence claimed dozens of lives during this period of labor strife. Former US president William Howard Taft was named as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1921.  Taft served in this capacity until Feb 3, 1930, only 35 days prior to his death.

Knee length outfits were the rave of fashion conscious women during the 1920s.  Miss America 1921, Margaret Gorman, displays the style.  1921 was the first year for the Miss America pageant.

©Copyright 2005 by us-coin-values.advisor.com. Coin Photos courtesy of Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, Inc., Beverly Hills, CA. Image courtesy Library of Congress.

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