Walking Liberty Half Dollar
We went back on the weekend to detect a long strip of land by a beach where people had been walking their dogs and jogging.
We had been detecting it for over a week, and the good finds were starting
to get scarce.
We had popped up some Indian Heads cents and Mercury dimes, so we knew stuff
was there, and that no one had detected it before. We started pulling some
half dollar size pieces of aluminum circles (about 15 of them) and every
time we found one, our hearts would start pounding.
We
still have no idea what they are. Maybe kids were using them as play money
years ago or something. We even found some large copper discs with nothing
on them.
It was getting towards evening, and we were getting tired of digging them.
So, deciding to head back to the car, we ran across another one of these
loud signals, and we just looked at each other, should we dig it or not?
Okay, we dug it, and Vlad's eyes got REAL BIG! Wow! I can't believe we found
one! A 1942 Walking Liberty Half! We found 3 more the first weekend in June
2000, all of them on a beach in the water. Amazing!
History: This type was designed by A. A. Weinman. The designer's
monogram AAW appears under the tip of the winged feathers. On the 1916 coins
and some of the 1917 coins the mint mark is located on the obverse below
the motto. These were made between 1916-1947. The most valuable is a 1938
D
Their are large and small mint mark varieties and pieces dated 1928D are
counterfeit.
Recommended
books:
Handbook
of United States Coins: The Official "Blue Book" by R. S. Yeoman