1916-D Walking Liberty Half Dollar. MS-67+ (NGC).This enchanting Superb Gem represents what could very well be a once-in-a-lifetime bidding opportunity for the advanced Walking Liberty half dollar enthusiast. It is the single finest example of the first year 1916-D known to PCGS and NGC. The surfaces are silky smooth in texture, to be sure, and border on pristine. Fully struck and lustrous, as well, otherwise speckled pale silver iridescence gives way to warmer olive-russet highlights at the borders. The 1916-D represents the largest mintage of half dollars struck by any U.S. coinage facility for the year, the first in the Walking Liberty series. At 1,014,400 coins, it amounted to nearly twice the quantity of half dollars struck in Philadelphia (608,000) and over double what was struck by the San Francisco Mint (508,000). As an example of the first year of this type, a significant quantity was saved by the public and a surprising percentage of this mintage remains in Mint State for todays collectors. Even so, Superb Gem examples remain rare and hardly able to satisfy demand.
