1929-D 50C (Regular Strike)
Series: Walking Liberty Half Dollars 1916-1947
PCGS MS67+
PCGS MS67
PCGS MS67
- PCGS #:
- 6589
- Designer:
- Adolph Alexander Weinman
- Edge:
- Reeded
- Diameter:
- 30.00 millimeters
- Weight:
- 12.50 grams
- Mintage:
- 1,001,200
- Mint:
- Denver
- Metal:
- 90% Silver, 10% Copper
- Auction Record:
- $82,250 • MS67+ • 09-27-2018 • Legend Rare Coin Auctions
Major Varieties
- 1929-D 50C
Rarity and Survival Estimates Learn More
| Survival Estimate | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 50,000 |
| 60 or Better | 3,000 |
| 65 or Better | 600 |
| Numismatic Rarity | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | R-2.5 |
| 60 or Better | R-4.4 |
| 65 or Better | R-5.8 |
| Relative Rarity By Type All Specs in this Type | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 10 / 66 TIE |
| 60 or Better | 23 / 66 |
| 65 or Better | 25 / 66 |
| Relative Rarity By Series All Specs in this Series | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 10 / 66 TIE |
| 60 or Better | 23 / 66 |
| 65 or Better | 25 / 66 |
Condition Census What Is This?
|
#1 PCGS MS67+
As PCGS MS67 #35286702. Heritage Auctions, April 26, 2018, Lot 4263 – $44,400. As PCGS MS67+ #35286702. Legend Rare Coin Auctions, September 2018, Lot 185 – $82,250; "The Gerald Forsythe Collection" (PCGS Set Registry). |
|
#2 PCGS MS67
As PCGS MS66 #2641388. “The Calvin Collection,” Heritage Auctions, January 10, 2009, Lot 6027 – $4,312.50. As PCGS MS66+ #25314396. Heritage Auctions, June 5, 2014, Lot 4583 – $9,987.50. As PCGS MS67 #39442348. Heritage Auctions, August 4, 2020, Lot 3931 – $30,000; Heritage Auctions, November 20, 2020, Lot 3331 – $27,600. |
|
#2 PCGS MS67
As PCGS MS67 #25172521. "The Gerald R. Forsythe Collection," GreatCollections, February 16, 2020, Lo 801143 - $44,831.25. As PCGS MS67 #39221442. Legend Rare Coin Auctions, May 14, 2020, lot 185 – $64,625. |
#2 PCGS MS67
Legend Rare Coin Auctions, December 12, 2019, Lot 346 - $44,650. |
#5 PCGS MS66+
GreatCollections, May 3, 2026, Lot 1911672 - $11,937.38; "The Grand Cru Collection" (PCGS Set Registry). |
#5 PCGS MS66+
GreatCollections, August 3, 2025, Lot 1887707 - $11,251.13. |
#5 PCGS MS66+
|
#5 PCGS MS66+
Legend Rare Coin Auctions, July 27, 2023, Lot 61 – $7,931.25; Heritage Auctions, September 14, 2023, Lot 3028 – $7,500; Heritage Auctions, May 9, 2024, Lot 4316 – $7,200; Heritage Auctions, May 12, 2024, Lot 4316 - $7,200; "The Jeff Cohen Walking Liberty Date Set" (PCGS Set Registry). |
#5 PCGS MS66+
GreatCollections, October 11, 2020, Lot 892640 - $11,812.50; GreatCollections, February 28, 2021, Lot 901607 - $9,843.75. |
#5 PCGS MS66+
Stack's Bowers, August 22, 2018, Lot 3364 - $5,040; Legend Rare Coin Auctions, March 21, 2019, Lot 228 – $11,456.25. |
#5 PCGS MS66+
“The Steven L. Duckor Collection of Walking Liberty Half Dollars,” Heritage Auctions, January 4, 2018, Lot 4549 – $16,800; "Julie's Walkers Date Set" (PCGS Set Registry). Frosty with a thin band of gold rim toning. |
#5 PCGS MS66+
Heritage Auctions, July 6, 2017, Lot 3116 – $11,162.50. Brilliant. |
#5 PCGS MS66+
GreatCollections, October 30, 2016, Lot 40254 - $5,924.25. |
#5 PCGS MS66+
Heritage Auctions, July 26, 2003, Lot 7833 - $4,140; "The coinlaw Collection" (PCGS Set Registry) |
#5 PCGS MS66+
|
#5 PCGS MS66+
|
#5 PCGS MS66+
|
The 1929-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar
Following a seven-year gap in half dollar production, the Denver Mint briefly restarted operations in 1929, striking 1,001,200 pieces. However, the stock market crash and the onset of the Great Depression cut this revival short. As a result, 1929 proved to be a single-year resumption, and Denver did not coin half dollars again until 1934.
Despite this low mintage, hoarders and collectors preserved enough 1929-D Walking Liberty Half Dollars (#6589) to make uncirculated coins through PCGS MS65 relatively accessible today. Market availability drops off sharply in MS66 or higher, with top-tier population coins topping out in the PCGS MS67 to PCGS MS67+ band.
Collecting the 1929-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar
The value of the 1929-D half dollar is strongly tied to wear and surface condition. As David Hall notes in his PCGS narrative, it stands as one of the final dates in the series — alongside the 1929-S (#6590), 1933-S (#6591), and 1938-D (#6605) — where even heavily worn, lower-grade coins command a premium over silver melt value.
Over the decades, the market for the 1929-D has seen dramatic shifts. In the June 1934 issue of The Numismatist (p. 416), collectors could still acquire uncirculated 1929-D half dollars directly from the U.S. Treasury for "the face value of the coins and an amount sufficient to cover the mail charges by first-class mail." Just over thirty years later, New York coin dealer Joel D. Coen advertised Choice BU 1929-D specimens for $375. In hindsight, both opportunities offered exceptional value, as current market prices for Choice Uncirculated 1929-D half dollars trade well above those historic entry points.
* * *
The 1929-D has a relatively low mintage and, along with the 1929-S and 1933-S, it the last Waliking Liberty half dollar (with the exception of the very low mintage 1938-D) that sells for more than it's silver value in the lowest grades. It is somewhat scarce in the higher circulated grades and definitely scarce in mint state. The 1929-D is not quite as rare in mint state and Gem mint state condition as the 1929-S and it is about the same rarity as the 1933-S, perhaps marginally rarer. All three coins are much rarer in mint state and Gem mint state than the dates that follow.
The typical 1929-D can be very frosty or toned in varying degrees. Strike is usually not a problem though sometimes Ms. Liberty's hand can be a little weak.